NOV  10  1982 


BV  2853  .B6  G56  1922 
Ginsburg,  Solomon  L.,  1867 
A  wandering  Jew  in  Brazil 


PLATE   I. 


Upper— Mr.   and   Mrs.   Ginsburg   and   Children. 
Lower— The  Ginsburg  Children. 


A  WANDERING  JEW 
IN  BRAZIL 

AN     UTOBIOGRAPHY 

By  the 

REV.  SOLOMON  L.  GINSBURG 

For  Thirty  Years  Missionary  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Board 

of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention  in  Brazil, 

South  America. 


Sunday  School  Board 

Southern  Baptist  Convention 

Nashville,  Tcnn. 

1922 


L.  H.  Jenkins,  Inc. 

Edition  Book  Manufacture 

Richmond,  Va. 


[TO 

MRS.  EMMA  MORTON  GINSBURG, 

the  consecrated  missionary,  self-sacrificing  mother, 
and  devoted  companion,  who  for  these  thirty  years 
has  shared  with  me  all  my  trials  and  joys. 

This  Book  is  affectionately  dedicated. 


CONTENTS 


PAGI 
FORWAM     7 

Introduction,  by  Dr.  T.  B.  Ray 9 

First  Chapter:    Preparation  for  Service 15 

Second  Chapter:    Getting  My  Bearings 44 

Third  Chapter:    In  Bahia,  1892 69 

Fourth  Chapter:    In  Campos,  1893-1900 90 

Fifth  Chapter  :    In  Pernambuco,  1900-1909 129 

Sixth  Chapter  :    In  Many  Places 161 

Seventh  Chapter  :    Recruiting  tor  the  Master 190 

Eighth  Chapter:     Companions  and  Friends 207 

Ninth  Chapter:  .Brazil  as  Mission  Fuld 238 

Alphabetical  Index   


FOREWORD 

Just  a  word  as  to  the  reason  for  publishing  this 
book.  If  there  is  one  thing  I  always  disliked,  it  was 
to  speak  or  write  about  myself  or  my  own  personal 
experiences.  But  friends,  who  have  heard  me  tell  the 
incidents  that  have  happened  to  me  in  my  life  and 
work,  have  insisted  upon  my  collecting  these  in  book 
form,  so  that  they  might  be  put  to  a  wider  use,  both 
for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  the  great 
Cause  of  Missions. 

Acceding  to  their  wishes  I  have  endeavored  to 
satisfy  them,  for,  if  there  is  one  thing  I  want  to  do 
above  all  others,  it  is  to  be  of  some  use  to  the  Master's 
Cause,  especially  to  Brazil. 

I  have  not  attempted  to  make  this  book  one  of 
perfect  literary  style.  After  thirty  years  of  work  in 
a  country  where  the  English  tongue  is  not  in  general 
use,  striving  to  perfect  myself  in  the  native  language, 
it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  attempt  any  perfec- 
tion in  style  or  even  elegance  of  expression  in  English. 
My  chief  object  has  been  to  relate  the  incidents  in  a 
way  that  they  might  be  understood  by  all. 

In  placing  this  little  book  before  my  brethren  in 
the  faith,  my  heart's  prayer  to  God  is  that  it  be  used 
for  His  glory  and  Cause. 

There  are  very  few  books  that  tell  of  the  great 
opportimities  and  the  urgent  need  of  workers  in  that 
great  Mission  field — Brazil.    I  do  pray  and  hope  that 


8  FOREWORD 

this  book  will  be  used  by  the  Spirit  of  God  to  draw 
many  of  our  young  men  and  women  to  that  great  field 
of  labour,  where  they  can  make  their  lives  count  a 
thousand  fold  for  the  Master. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  book  I  have  been  helped 
greatly  by  Dr.  T.  B.  Ray,  the  Associate  Secretary  of 
our  Foreign  Mission  Board,  whose  knowledge  of  the 
work  and  workers  is  almost  incomparable;  also  by 
Dr.  W.  O.  Carver,  Professor  of  Missions  in  the 
Southern  Baptist  Theological  Seminary,  and  by  Mrs. 
J.  R.  Miller,  of  Columbia,  Mo.,  proficient  stenog- 
rapher, who,  very  graciously,  prepared  my  Manu- 
script* for  the  publishers,  to  all  of  whom  I  extend  my 
sincere  gratitude. 

THE  AUTHOR. 

Kansas  City,  Mo.,  June,  1921. 


INTRODUCTION 

When  some  months  ago  Rev.  S.  L.  Ginsburg  an- 
nounced to  me  that  he  was  expecting  to  write  an  auto- 
biography, I  said  to  him  jokingly,  "Solomon,  I 
suggest  that  you  call  it  'A  Wandering  Jew  in  Brazil'." 
Imagine  my  surprise  when  he  sent  me  his  manuscript 
with  this  title.    My  jest  had  been  taken  seriously. 

Well,  after  all,  it  is  a  good  title,  because  this  man 
of  God  has  traveled  very  extensively  over  Brazil.  He 
is  one  of  the  most  widely  known  men  in  Brazil.  He 
is  called  "Pastor  Solomon,"  by  multitudes. 

While  he  has  covered  much  territory,  his  has  not 
been  a  vagrant  work.  His  longest  periods  of  service 
were  in  Campos  and  Pernambuco.  In  both  of  these 
fields  he  did  a  monumental  work.  In  both  of  these 
fields  our  cause  has  had  a  splendid  development. 
Brother  Ginsburg  does  not  claim  that  he  is  personally 
responsible  for  all  the  remarkable  growth  in  these 
fields.  Others  have  labored  and  God  has  blessed  their 
labors,  but  Ginsburg  rendered  a  splendid  account  of 
himself  in  Campos  and  Pernambuco.  He  served  a 
shorter  period  in  Nictheroy  and  Bahia  and  did  his 
work  well. 

Then  came  his  call  to  the  Carroll  Memorial  Publish- 
ing House.  His  service  in  that  great  institution  gave 
him  an  opportunity  for  doing  a  work  to  his  liking  and 
it  has  been  a  notable  success.  During  a  part  of  the 
time  he  has  been  with  the  Publishing  House,  he  has 


10  INTRODUCTION 

been  Secretary  of  the  Brazilian  Baptist  Home  Mssion 
Board,  which  widened  his  contact  still  more.  He  has 
done  much  evangelizing  also.  So  it  can  be  said  justly 
that  this  Christian  Hebrew  has  really  wandered  far  in 
Brazil  and  gathered  in  many  precious  sheaves. 

Brother  Ginsburg  has  been  in  Brazil  thirty-one  of 
the  forty  years  of  Southern  Baptist  mission  work  in 
that  country.  Only  Dr.  and  Mrs.  W.  B.  Bagby,  the 
founders  of  our  Brazilian  Mission  work,  and  Miss 
Emma  Morton,  now  Mrs.  Ginsburg,  have  been  in 
Brazil  longer  than  he.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  W.  E.  Entz- 
minger.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  J.  J.  Taylor  and  Dr.  J.  L. 
Downing  entered  our  work  about  the  same  time  as 
did  Brother  Ginsburg.  His  time  in  Brazil  almost 
spans  the  period  of  Southern  Baptist  effort  in  that 
cotmtry.  He  is  in  position,  therefore,  to  give  much 
information  upon  our  work.  This  thing  he  does  very 
successfully  in  the  following  pages. 

The  first  effort  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Board  of  the 
Southern  Baptist  Convention  to  establish  work  in 
Brazil  was  made  in  1859,  when  Rev.  T.  J.  Bowen  was 
sent  to  that  field.  Mr.  Bowen  had  explored  Nigeria, 
Africa,  and  had  founded  our  African  Mission  in  1849. 
His  health  would  not  permit  him  to  return  to  Africa, 
so  he  asked  to  be  designated  to  Brazil.  After  a  little 
more  than  a  year  in  Brazil,  he  was  forced  to  return 
to  the  United  States  and  the  Mission  in  Brazil  was 
abandoned. 

Had  it  not  been  for  his  poor  health,  Mr.  Bowen 
would  have,  no  doubt,  won  the  distinction  of  founding 
two  of  our  Board's  great  missions.     Mr.  Bowen  re- 


INTRODUCTION  11 

turned  to  North  America  in  1861,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  War  Between  the  States.  The  general  demoraliza- 
tion of  that  period  was  such  as  to  discourage  any 
effort  to  maintain  the  Brazilian  Mission. 

After  our  Civil  War  closed  a  large  number  of 
families  from  our  Southern  States  emigrated  to 
Brazil,  in  the  hope  of  recuperating  their  fortunes  and 
with  the  feeling  that  they  would  find  conditions  more 
endurable  in  Brazil  than  they  expected  them  to  be  in 
our  Southland.  Amongst  those  immigrants  there  were 
Baptists,  who  organized  themselves  into  a  Baptist 
church  at  Santa  Barbara,  in  Sao  Paulo  State. 

In  1873,  this  small  church  of  thirty  members  urged 
the  Foreign  Mission  Board  to  consider  Brazil  as  a 
mission  field  and  asked  that  their  church  be  recog- 
nized as  a  self-supporting  mission  of  the  Board. 
Action  was  not  taken  on  this  proposition  until  1879, 
at  which  time  it  was  decided  to  accept  the  invitation 
to  appoint  as  missionary  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Board 
Rev.  E.  H.  Quillin,  who  was  then  pastor  of  the  Santa 
Barbara  Church.  Mr.  Quillin  did  not  receive  a  salary 
from  the  Board.  He  returned  to  the  United  States  in 
1882.  His  work  was  almost  entirely  in  behalf  of  the 
North  American  emigrants. 

The  attempt  by  Bowen  to  start  a  mission  in  Brazil 
failed  and  the  connection  of  the  Foreign  Mission 
Board  with  the  Santa  Barbara  Church  was  fraternal 
rather  than  administrative.  So,  the  work  of  Southern 
Baptists  in  behalf  of  Brazil  began  really  in  1881,  when 
Rev.  and  Mrs.  W.  B.  Bagby  were  appointed  as  mis- 
sionaries to  that  country.    While  Dr.  Bagby  was  ac- 


U  INTRODUCTION 

quiring  a  knowledge  of  the  Portuguese  language,  he 
rendered  faithful  service  to  the  American  church  in 
Santa  Barbara  and  another  small  American  church 
nearby  at  Station.  For  many  years  Dr.  Bagby  exer- 
cised a  sort  of  superintendence  over  the  work  among 
the  American  emigrants,  but  he  concentrated  his  main 
energies  upon  reaching  the  native  Brazilians. 

In  1882  the  Bagby s  were  joined  by  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Z.  C.  Taylor.  After  a  short  time  at  Santa  Barbara, 
both  these  missionary  families  moved  to  Bahia.  On 
October  15,  1882,  they  organized  themselves  into  the 
First  Baptist  Church  of  Bahia. 

After  remaining  a  little  over  a  year  in  Bahia,  tne 
Bagbys  moved  to  Rio  de  Janeiro,  for  the  purpose  of 
opening  our  work  in  t^at  city  and  also  of  giving  some 
attention  to  the  churcnes  at  Santa  Barbara  and  Sta- 
tion. On  August  24,  1886,  the  First  Baptist  Church 
of  Rio  de  Janeiro  was  organized. 

Thus  came  into  existence  the  work  in  Bahia,  which 
is  the  religious  capital,  and  in  Rio,  which  is  the  poli- 
tical capital  of  Brazil.  From  these  two  centers,  the 
Taylors  located  in  one  and  the  Bagbys  in  the  other, 
our  cause  spread  gradually  in  the  north  and  south  to 
the  inspiring  proportions  it  has  attained  at  the  present 
time. 

The  work  grew  in  the  country  around  Bahia,  spread 
to  Pemambuco,  further  north,  and  the  region  around 
about,  up  the  seacoast,  on  up  the  mighty  Amazon 
Valley  a  thousand  miles  even  to  Manaus. 

From  Rio  it  took  root  in  Nictheroy,  Campos,  the 
States  of  Minas,  Sao  Paulo  and,  of  late,  has  widened 


INTRODUCTION  13 

until  we  have  Baptist  churches  in  every  State  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  country  and  Baptist  State  Con- 
ventions in  a  half-dozen  of  them. 

By  and  by  reinforcements  were  sent  and  institutions 
came  into  existence.  There  are  now  three  leading 
schools  of  learning — the  College  and  Seminary  in  Rio, 
the  College  and  Seminary  in  Pemambuco,  and  the 
College  for  Women  in  Sao  Paulo.  These  schools  are 
flanked  and  supported  by  a  growing  number  of 
academies  and  day  schools. 

Another  most  potential  institution  is  our  publishing 
house  known  as  the  Carroll  Memorial  Publishing 
House,  whose  headquarters  are  in  Rio.  It  has  a  fine 
printing  plant  and  is  rendering  valiant  service  in  send- 
ing Baptist  literature  all  over  the  land. 

The  native  churches  have  so  developed  that  a  Na- 
tional Baptist  Convention  has  been  formed,  which 
functions  after  the  fashion  of  the  Southern  Baptist 
Convention.  It  has  its  Home,  Sunday  School,  Educa- 
tion and  Foreign  Mission  Boards.  It  supports  foreign 
missions  in  Portugal. 

There  are  221  Baptist  churches  in  Brazil,  with 
20,135  members.  One-half  of  these  churches  are  self- 
supporting  and  own  their  church  buildings.  The 
South  Brazil  Mission  has  the  distinction  of  being  the 
largest  mission  fostered  by  the  Foreign  Mission 
Board. 

Certainly,  our  cause  in  Brazil  has  experienced  great 
progress.  The  growth  of  our  membership  through 
these  forty  years  has  shown  an  average  net  gain  of 
five  hundred  a  year. 


14  INTRODUCTION 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  author  is  not 
attempting  to  write  a  history  of  Southern  Baptist 
endeavor  in  Brazil,  nor  is  he  trying  to  give  even  a  full 
survey  of  it.  He  has  written  an  autobiography  of 
more  than  usual  interest  and  has  woven  into  it  much 
about  our  work.  His  profound  devotion  to  Brazil 
makes  him  feel  that  a  knowledge  of  the  successes  and 
of  the  needs  of  our  work  will  draw  others  into  this 
field.  He  also  hopes  that  the  material  about  Brazil 
will  make  the  book  more  useful  to  Mission  Study 
Classes  than  an  unmixed  autobiography  might  do. 
This  combination  plan  has  given  us  a  volume  of 
absorbing  interest. 

The  reader  will  come  through  the  first  two  chapters 
which  describe  the  triumph  of  Christ  in  the  author's 
Jewish  heart  and  his  thrilling  experiences  in  London 
as  a  mission  worker,  prepared  to  find  narrated  in  the 
following  chapters  stirring  adventures  in  Brazil.  The 
reader  will  not  be  disappointed.  The  remarkable  fund 
of  stories  about  his  own  missionary  experiences  and 
those  of  others  give  colorful  vividness  to  the  personal 
story.  The  human  interest  is  intense.  The  testimony 
to  the  presence  of  Divine  power  is  most  inspiring. 
The  book  should  have  a  wide  reading  and  study.  It 
contains  a  throbbing,  uplifting  message. 

T.  B.  RAY, 

Richmond,  Va.,  July  1,  1921. 


A  WANDERING  JEW 
IN  BRAZIL 


CHAPTER  I. 
PREPARATION  FOR  SERVICE. 

Birth  and  Education. — I  was  bom  near  Suwalki, 
Poland,  on  the  6th  day  of  August,  1867,  of  Jewish 
parents,  my  father  being  a  Jewish  rabbi. 

All  that  I  remember  about  my  early  life  is  that 
when  I  was  about  four  years  old,  I  was  taken  to  the 
home  of  my  father's  people  who  lived  in  that  town 
and  was  sent  to  school. 

When  six  years  old,  my  good  mother,  who  was  a 
devout  Jewess,  bom  and  reared  in  Germany,  prevailed 
upon  my  father  to  allow  me  go  to  her  people  in 
Koenigsberg  and  study  in  the  German  schools,  as  there 
was  very  little  opportunity  for  a  Jewish  boy  to  obtain 
higher  education  in  Russian-Poland.  Though  very 
reluctant,  because  of  his  orthodox  Jewish  faith  and 
fear  of  the  Gentile  teaching,  he  consented  on  condi- 
tion that  I  return  to  him  at  the  age  of  fourteen. 

I  remained  in  Germany  until  I  was  fourteen,  having 
completed  not  only  the  grammar  school  but  also  the 
lyceum.  My  mother's  father  was  a  wheat  merchant 
and  owned  several  sailing  vessels.     He  was  a  very 


16         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

learned,  widely  traveled  and  liberal  minded  man. 
During  my  holidays  he  would  take  me  with  him  on 
his  trips  to  various  parts  of  Europe. 

Returning  to  Orthodoxy. — When  I  had  finished  my 
studies  at  the  lyceum  my  father  insisted  upon  my 
returning  to  him,  at  which  time  I  was  to  begin  pre- 
paration for  becoming  a  Jewish  teacher.  His  plans 
were  very  simple.  I  was  to  marry  the  only  daughter 
of  a  wealthy  Jewish  family  who  would  support  me 
and  the  possible  future  family,  for  at  least  seven  years, 
while  I  was  to  give  myself  to  the  mastery  of  Hebrew 
and  the  Talmud,  as  well  as  to  the  Rabbinical  social 
exigencies.  It  was  not  an  easy  nor  congenial  task 
and  my  heart  revolted  against  it,  especially  against  the 
strict  Jewish,  or  perhaps  I  may  say  pharisaical  cus- 
toms and  habits  prevaiHng.  I  could  not  accustom 
myself  to  them.  For  instance,  no  match  could  be 
lighted  on  a  Sabbath  Day — no  handkerchief  could  be 
carried  in  one's  pockets,  and  so  on.  The  strict 
orthodoxy  of  the  Jews  in  Poland  and  Russia  becomes 
intolerable  to  one  who  has  been  trained  in  other  cir- 
cles. I  wanted  to  get  out  of  it  all  and  get  into  the 
world  and  live  my  own  life. 

Matrimonial  Speculation. — Not  until  after  much  in- 
sisting was  I  allowed  to  see  the  girl  my  father,  or 
rather  the  matrimonial  agent,  had  chosen  for  me  to 
marry.  I  found  her  to  be  a  child  of  perhaps  not  more 
than  twelve  years  of  age.  Needless  to  say  my  whole 
soul  revolted  against  the  business,  and  I  determined 
not  to  have  any  part  in  the  affair.  However,  it  was 
very  difficult  for  me  to  escape,  as  my  father,  suspect- 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  17 

ing  my  determination,  watched  me  closely.  It  was 
only  after  every  preparation  had  been  made  for  the 
wedding-feast  that  1  was  able  to  rim  away.  I  was 
then  only  about  fifteen  years  of  age  and  I  have  never 
since  seen  the  face  of  my  father  nor  did  I  ever  learn 
what  became  of  the  girl. 

Alone  in  the  World. — I  wandered  about  some  cities 
and  villages  in  Poland,  working  my  way  from  one 
place  to  another  as  waiter,  apprentice  at  several  trades, 
and,  finally,  fell  in  with  a  traveling  merchant  who  kept 
me  as  his  secretary,  but  really  used  me  as  an  instru- 
ment for  some  kind  of  a  secret  political  society.  This 
brought  me  into  many  difficult  situations  and  im- 
prisonments, from  which  I  was  usually  taken  out 
quite  readily.  Finally  I  had  to  flee  from  Russia  to 
save  myself  from  being  sent  to  Siberia.  I  was  near 
Suwalki  when  word  came  to  cross  the  frontier,  and  I 
managed  to  send  word  to  my  mother  to  meet  me  in 
the  cemetery,  near  the  tomb  of  my  great-grandfather 
for  whom  I  had  been  named.  There  my  mother  and 
I  met  for  the  last  time.  To  my  mother  I  owe  my  life 
and  greater  usefulness,  for  had  it  not  been  for  her,  I 
would  have  been  doomed  to  live  the  circumscribed  life 
of  a  Jewish  recluse. 

I  crossed  the  frontier  that  night  and  reached 
Koenigsberg  where  I  found  letters  and  money  enough 
to  take  me  to  New  York  City,  the  United  States  of 
America,  the  land  of  liberty  and  opportunity  and 
where  friends  and  relatives  were  ready  to  receive  me. 

Arriving  in  London. — Unfortunately  or  otherwise, 
I  spent  all  the  money  I  had  on  the  way,  arriving  in 


18         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

Hamburg  with  only  thirty  pfenings  (three  nickels) 
in  my  possession.  No  vessel  to  New  York  would  take 
me  over  and  I  found  a  sailing  boat,  carrying  horses 
to  London  that  was  willing  to  take  me.  I  was  to  do 
some  kind  of  work,  but  we  had  a  very  rough  sea  and 
I  suffered  great  agonies  until  we  reached  the  Thames. 
I  will  never  forget  the  arrival  in  London  on  that 
early  September  morning  of  1882.  I  at  once  seemed 
to  smell  the  warm  odors  of  a  bakershop  and,  enter- 
ing, placed  my  three  German  nickels  on  the  counter 
and  pointed  to  a  loaf  of  bread.  How  rapidly  this  bread 
disappeared  can  more  easily  be  imagined  than  de- 
scribed, as  I  had  not  had  any  food  for  three  days. 

In  London  I  found  an  uncle  of  mine,  my  mother's 
brother,  who  owned  a  large  dry  goods  store  in  the 
East  End  who  gladly  took  me  in  and  gave  me  work 
in  his  office  as  assistant  bookkeeper.  He  was  a 
splendid  man,  a  typical  orthodox  Jew,  adhering 
strictly  to  all  that  Moses  and  the  Holy  Fathers  re- 
quired. I  had  my  own  room  in  the  attic  and  was 
taking  special  lessons  in  mercantile  bookkeeping  as 
well  as  in  the  English  language. 

Hearing  the  Gospel  for  the  First  Time. — One 
Sabbath  afternoon  while  passing  through  Whitechapc. 
Street  I  met  a  missionary  to  the  Jews — a  converted 
Jew — who  invited  me  to  hear  him  preach  at  the 
Mildmay  Mission  to  the  Jews  on  the  53rd  chapter  of 
Isaiah.  Now,  I  was  particularly  interested  in  this 
certain  chapter  of  the  Bible  because  of  an  incident 
that  had  happened  to  me  while  in  Poland,  and  most 
likely  had  it  not  been  for  this  peculiar  incident  I 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  19 

would  not  have  gone  to  this  meeting.  The  incident 
as  it  occurred  was  as  follows : 

My  father  was  celebrating  the  feast  of  the  Taber- 
nacle, living  in  a  tent  that  he  had  put  up  close  to  our 
home.  He  had  a  number  of  visitors  staying  with  him 
and  as  I  had  passed  the  age  of  thirteen  and  was  con- 
sidered a  full-fledged  Jew,  I  was  allowed  to  stay  and 
listen  to  the  talks  and  discussions.  Upon  the  table 
were  several  books  and  among  them  was  a  well  used 
copy  of  the  Prophets.  Accidentally,  for  the  question 
had  never  been  brought  to  my  attention,  I  opened 
that  book  and  was  reading  the  53rd  Chapter  of  Isaiah. 
There  were  some  comments  on  the  margin  and  one 
remark  seemed  to  loom  out  above  all  the  other  scrib- 
blings,  viz. :  "To  whom  does  the  Prophet  refer  in  this 
Chapter?"  Innocently  I  turned  to  my  father  and 
asked  him  the  very  same  question.  He  looked  at  me 
quite  surprised  and  a  profound  quietness  seemed  to 
come  over  the  group.  Not  being  answered  I  repeated 
the  question,  when  my  father  snatched  the  book  out  of 
my  hand  and  deliberately  slapped  me  in  the  face. 
I  felt  quite  chagrined  and  humiliated  and  I  confess 
I  did  not  like  that  kind  of  an  answer — but  in  the 
Providence  of  God,  it  served  its  purpose,  for,  when 
that  Jewish  Missionary  asked  me  to  go  and  hear  him 
explain  that  very  same  chapter  I  could  not  but  remem- 
ber that  scene  in  the  tent  and,  of  course,  went,  out  of 
curiosity  to  see  if  he  had  a  better  explanation  to  give 
than  the  one  my  father  had  given. 

A  Glimpse  of  Christ. — That  was  the  turning  point. 
I  went  to  hear  him  explain  that  marvelous  prophetical 


20         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

chapter  and  though  I  could  not  understand  it  all  at 
that  time,  it  sank  into  my  heart.  He  asked  me  to 
read  the  New  Testament,  and  when  he  called  my  at- 
tention to  the  wonders  of  the  life  of  the  Messiah  and 
how  every  prophecy  was  fulfilled  in  Jesus,  I  was  soon 
convinced  that  the  Son  of  Mary,  the  crucified  One, 
was  the  Christ  of  God,  the  Messiah  of  Israel,  the 
Rejected  One  of  my  people.  Oh !  how  I  wept  when 
I  came  to  the  Crucifixion  scene  and  read  those  awful 
words:  "His  blood  be  on  us  and  on  our  children." 
It  seemed  to  me  that  I  had  taken  an  active  part  in 
the  murder  of  the  Innocent  One  and  I  realized  for  the 
first  time  the  reason  for  the  terrible  history  of  the 
Jews,  the  sufferings  and  persecutions  they  had  gone 
through  and  even  were  still  enduring.  It  was  not 
long  after  this  that  I  realized  I  must  cast  in  my  lot 
with  Jesus  and  plead  for  forgiveness  for  the  part  I 
had  in  that  great  crime  of  Calvary. 

But  if  I  did  this  I  knew  the  consequences,  for  I  had 
heard  my  uncle  condemn  and  curse  the  Jews  who  had 
abandoned  their  faith.  They  were  imposters,  accord- 
ing to  his  opinion,  persons  who  had  sold  their  souls 
for  money.  I  knew  that  my  lot  would  be  hard.  I 
knew  I  would  be  driven  away  from  his  home  where 
I  had  spent  so  many  happy  days. 

Struggling  Against  the  Light. — I  struggled  hard 
for  nearly  three  months,  against  my  own  convictions 
and  against  the  light.  My  soul  yearned  for  a  com- 
plete surrender  to  Him  who  died  for  me  but  who, 
as  risen  Lord,  was  seated  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
Father,  patiently  waiting  to  receive  and  forgive.   My 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  21 

head  reasoned  but  my  heart  trembled  for  the  future. 
1  could  not  eat  nor  sleep,  and  my  uncle  was  con- 
templating sending  me  to  some  health  resort,  as  1 
was  beginning  to  look  very  haggard.  Personally,  I 
was  fearing  that  I  would  lose  complete  control  of 
myself  or  even  my  mind.    I  was  in  a  dreadful  dilemma. 

Finally  the  Lord  had  pity  on  me  and  gave  me  peace. 
It  happened  this  way  :  As  was  my  custom  I  went  to  the 
Wellclose  Square  Mission  and  on  this  particular 
Saturday  afternoon  the  Reverend  John  Wilkinson  had 
been  announced  to  preach.  He  took  as  his  text 
Matthew  X,  Z7  \  "He  that  loveth  father  or  mother 
more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me."  He  emphasized 
especially  the  last  phrase  "not  worthy  of  me" — not 
worthy  of  Jesus.  All  that  the  preacher  said  seemed 
to  touch  my  soul  and,  when  he  asked  for  testimonies 
I  could  not  help  standing  up  and  tremblingly  saying: 
"I  want  to  be  worthy  of  Jesus !" 

Decision  and  Happiness. — I  went  to  my  room  and 
paced  the  floor  until  past  midnight,  when  at  last  I 
surrendered  my  all  to  Jesus,  all  I  could  say  was, 
"Lord,  make  me  worthy  of  Thee !"  I  felt  my  load 
lifted.  I  knew  that  I  was  forgiven  and  accepted  and 
when  at  last,  through  tears  of  joy  and  happy  com- 
munion with  Him,  I  stretched  myself  on  my  bed,  I 
slept  the  most  refreshing  sleep  I  had  had  for  a  long 
time.     Happiness  and  joy  filled  my  soul. 

Testifying. — Early  next  morning,  it  was  Sunday 
morning,  I  appeared  in  due  time  for  breakfast.  My 
uncle  was  at  the  table  and  no  doubt  noticed  my  happy 
and  satisfied  look.     As  I  sat  down  to  the  table  he 


22         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

asked  me  why  I  looked  so  happy  and  I  told  him 
frankly : 

"Uncle,  for  the  last  three  months  I  have  been  going 
through  a  great  struggle."  I  told  him  of  my  going 
to  the  Mission  and  the  reading  of  the  New  Testament 
and  finished  by  saying: 

"Last  night  I  decided  and  have  accepted  Jesus  as 
my  Saviour  and  from  now  on,  Uncle,  I  want  you  to 
know  that  I  too  am  a  Christian." 

It  would  be  difficult  to  describe  how  the  good  man 
received  this  bit  of  information.  He  left  the  table 
unable  to  touch  the  food,  pale  and  sad  as  if  his  heart 
would  break.  I,  however,  was  able  to  eat  and  enjoyed 
my  breakfast  as  I  had  not  done  for  a  long  time. 

Going  into  the  store  I  found  my  uncle  pacing  the 
floor  furiously  angry.  I  went  into  the  office  and, 
when  I  had  an  opportunity,  I  related  to  the  senior 
bookkeeper  my  happy  experience  of  the  previous 
night.  He  cautioned  me  not  to  tell  it  to  my  uncle 
if  I  wanted  to  keep  my  place.  Imagine  his  surprise 
when  I  informed  him  that  my  uncle  was  the  first 
person  to  whom  I  had  given  the  information.  Later 
in  the  day  the  bookkeeper  informed  me  that  my  uncle 
had  told  him,  that  as  long  as  I  was  not  baptized  it 
did  not  matter. 

"These  boys,"  he  had  said,  "one  day  believe  one 
thing  and  the  next  day  another.  These  notions  will 
soon  disappear  and  as  long  as  he  does  not  submit  to 
that  rite  and  publicly  deny  the  faith  of  his  fathers,  it 
does  not  matter."  The  Jews  think  that  Jewish  candi- 
dates for  baptism  pass  through  a  special  ceremony 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL         23 

when  they  are  forced  to  curse  their  God  and  the 
religion  of  their  Fathers. 

Profession  of  Faith. — I  then  and  there  determined 
to  make  my  profession  of  faith  and  immediately  spoke 
to  Mr.  Wilkinson  about  it.  After  due  inquiries  we 
agreed  to  have  it  done  at  the  Wellclose  Square  Mis- 
sion, in  the  East  End  of  London,  one  Saturday 
afternoon.  I  invited  my  uncle  and  a  great  many 
Jewish  friends  to  be  present.  He  came  and  during 
the  whole  time  did  his  utmost  to  get  me  out  of  the 
meeting.  However,  I  remained  firm,  and  after  hear- 
ing my  testimony  on  behalf  of  Christ,  he  and  his 
group  of  friends  walked  out  boisterously,  slamming 
the  door  after  them.  After  that  never-to-be-forgotten 
meeting,  Mr.  Wilkinson  and  the  staff  of  missionaries 
met  in  the  Home  of  Inquiries,  situated  in  the  North 
of  London,  at  Mildmay  Park,  where  we  had  a  de- 
lightful time  of  prayer  and  consecration.  It  was 
almost  midnight  when  I  returned  to  my  home  and 
when  I  opened  the  door  a  shower  of  curses,  broom 
sticks,  hot  water,  met  me.  After  being  cruelly  in- 
sulted and  beaten,  I  was  driven  away  from  that  door 
and  home. 

My  heart,  however,  was  so  full  of  joy  and  happi- 
ness that  I  did  not  notice  the  cold  of  that  October 
night.  My  tired  body  did  not  feel  the  hard  stones 
as  I  walked  those  streets  the  whole  night,  awaiting 
the  arrival  of  the  first  day  of  my  new  life. 

Expelled  From  Home. — Early  Monday  morning, 
after  walking  all  the  night  through  the  streets  of 
London,  I  went  into  my  uncle's  store  ready  to  continue 


24         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

my  work.    At  the  door  I  met  him,  as  if  expecting  me. 

"What  do  you  wish,  Sir?"  he  said.  I  told  him, 
"Uncle,  I  have  come  to  work." 

"Don't  call  me  Uncle  any  more,"  he  exclaimed,  "I 
do  not  know  you  any  more  and  you  have  absolutely 
nothing  more  to  do  here  and  the  sooner  you  get  out 
of  this  place  the  better  it  will  be  for  you." 

"All  right,"  I  said,  "but  I  would  like  to  go  to  my 
room  and  get  my  clothes." 

"You  have  absolutley  nothing  here,"  he  shouted  at 
the  top  of  his  voice  and  pushing  me  to  the  door 
shoved  me  out. 

I  expected  to  be  asked  to  resign  from  my  work, 
but  to  be  expelled  like  that,  without  a  piece  of  cloth- 
ing except  what  I  had  on,  was  quite  a  surprise.  It 
left  me  in  bad  shape.  I  only  had  a  few  shillings  in 
my  pocket  and  with  these  I  tried  to  begin  my  new  life. 
I  felt  sad,  but  in  my  heart  I  was  happy  for  being 
permitted  to  suffer  for  my  faith  in  my  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

The  first  few  days  passed  along  smoothly.  I  made 
the  pennies  I  had  go  a  long  way.  I  ate  as  little  as 
possible  and  slept  in  what  is  known  as  the  thieves' 
kitchens  where  for  a  few  pennies  one  can  get  a 
clean  bed.  I  tried  to  get  work,  but  as  all  my  ac- 
quaintances were  Jews,  after  I  would  tell  them  the 
reason  why  I  lost  my  job  refused  to  give  me  work. 
When  at  last  my  limited  funds  gave  out  I  had  a  very 
trying  time.  I  could  have  informed  the  missionaries 
about  my  trouble,  and  they,  no  doubt,  would  have 
been   glad  to  find  some  work   for  me;   but  I   was 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL         25 

ashamed  to  do  so,  as  I  did  not  wish  them  to  think 
that  I  was  after  their  money.  Finally  one  of  them 
noticed  some  difference  in  my  appearance  and  inquired 
as  to  my  way  of  living  and  I  informed  him  of  my 
predicament.  He  found  me  a  place  in  the  Home  of 
Jewish  Converts  where  I  was  accepted  and  taught  the 
art  of  printing  which  has  been  of  such  great  use  to 
me  in  my  work  in  Brazil.  Soon  after  entering  the 
Home  I  was  baptized  by  the  Rev.  John  Wilkinson, 
at  the  Central  Hall,  Mildmay  Mission,  before  a  crowd 
of  over  three  thousand  people. 

Learning  a  Trade. — I  spent  about  three  years  in 
that  home  and  due  to  the  manager,  Mr.  McClure,  a 
godly  Christian  gentleman,  who  seemed  to  realize  that 
my  work  would  not  be  that  of  setting  up  type,  but 
something  of  much  more  value  to  the  Kingdom  of 
God,  he  had  me  pass  through  all  the  departments  of 
that  printing  plant.  My  allowance  was  very  meager, 
only  a  shilling  a  week,  but  we  received  good  food, 
good  sleeping  quarters,  good  clothes,  a^^d  everything 
necessary  to  existence.  Again  and  again  dear  Mr. 
McClure  would  let  me  do  a  little  work  overtime, 
which  would  put  an  extra  shilling  into  my  pocket 
at  the  end  of  the  week. 

A  Godly  Teacher. — We  had  excellent  teachers 
One  of  the  best  and  most  consecrated  men  of  God  was 
Mr.  J.  Clancy,  a  retired  officer  of  the  English  army 
who  had  seen  service  in  India.  His  life  and  his 
words  helped  me  wonderfully  and  saved  me  many 
times  from  spiritual  disaster.  The  spiritual  life  of 
that  man  of  God  to  whom  I  took  all  my  difficulties 


26         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

and  trials  and  who  taught  me  how  to  lay  it  all  at  the 
feet  of  the  Master  in  prayer  was  an  inspiration  to  me. 

Street  Preaching. — Sunday  was  always  my  best 
day,  and  was  begun  by  attending  a  Men's  Bible  Class, 
under  the  direction  of  a  layman,  Mr.  Badenoch,  of 
the  Mildmay  Mission.  We  were  fifty  or  more  and 
had  an  excellent  program  prepared  for  the  whole 
year,  studying  some  book  of  the  New  Testament. 
That  was  a  real  spiritual  uplift,  which  I  experienced 
every  Sunday  morning  before  breakfast,  and  it  was 
there  that  I  also  received  my  first  lesson  in  winning 
souls  for  my  Master.  This  Bible  Class  did  not  content 
itself  with  the  study  of  the  word  of  God,  but  after 
breakfast  we  would  meet  again  and  go  into  the  high- 
ways and  by-ways  of  London  and  call  the  wanderers 
in.  Several  of  the  members  of  this  class  are  now 
at  work  in  the  Lord's  vineyard — some  in  far-away 
distant  lands. 

Thrown  Into  a  Dust  Bin. — During  one  of  those 
street  meetings  I  almost  met  my  Waterloo.  Anxious 
to  tell  my  own  people,  the  Jews,  what  the  Lord  had 
done  for  me,  I  asked  a  few  of  the  members  of  that 
Bible  Class  to  go  with  me  to  the  East  End  of  London 
and  help  me  in  an  open-air  meeting  to  be  held  in  a 
district  thickly  settled  with  Jews.  They  readily  con- 
sented and  we  chose  a  corner  of  the  street  where  four 
buildings,  almost  entirely  occupied  by  Hebrews, 
fronted.  The  meeting  began  as  usual,  with  singing 
of  hymris  and  prayer,  and  as  the  crowds  gathered  I 
was  pointed  out  as  the  Jewish  renegade.  As  long 
as  my  companions  addressed  them  nothing  happened, 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  27 

but  as  soon  as  I  got  up  and  began  telling  them  of 
Jesus,  the  Jews,  whose  number  had  constantly  in- 
creased, attacked  us.  My  companions  were  driven 
away  and  I  was  caught  by  the  persecutors,  who  threw 
me  to  the  ground  and  kicked  me  about  until  I  was 
almost  dead.  When  I  came  to  myself  I  was  told 
that  I  had  been  found  by  the  police  in  a  garbage 
box  more  dead  than  alive,  with  my  skull  cracked  and 
my  body  all  covered  with  bruises.  Oh,  but  those 
were  glorious  times,  and  I  praise  my  heavenly  Father 
for  having  been  permitted  to  suffer  for  Him  and  His 
Holy  Cause,  even  from  the  hand  of  my  brethren  ac- 
cording to  the  flesh ! 

Excommunicated. — It  was  a  year  after  I  had  been 
living  my  new  and  happy  life,  enjoying  the  fellow- 
ship of  Christian  men  and  women  and  preparing 
myself  for  a  life  of  more  usefulness  to  my  Master  and 
Lord,  that  one  day,  like  a  bolt  of  thunder  from  the 
clear  sky,  I  received  a  note  from  another  uncle  of 
mine,  a  brother  of  my  father.  He  had  come  to 
London  "on  business,"  said  the  note,  "but  wished  to 
see  me  before  returning  to  Russia."  Obtaining  per- 
mission I  ran  with  all  haste  and  fell  into  the  arms 
of  this  dear  uncle  who  had  always  treated  me  with 
special  affection,  even  while  I  was  studying  in  Ger- 
many, and  who,  being  childless  had  given  me  to  under- 
stand that  I  would  one  day  inherit  his  wealth. 

I  need  not  tell  here  all  the  particulars  of  our  meet- 
ing and  how  he  m-H^jrij  hfirfT^^*^  for  home  as 
he  gave  me  all  t^[^S>^\ab<&tB^^J^  that  I  loved 
and  from  whoj^^^iiadG;itetaUft£r^  sincfis^v  conversion. 


28         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

News  from  mother  and  father  and  especially  from 
my  only  sister,  with  whom  1  had  spent  most  of  my 
time  at  grandmother's  home  in  Germany,  and  to  whom 
i  was  greatly  attached  as  only  a  brother  can  be  to 
a  sister  when  they  are  living  mider  a  strange  roof, 
lie  gave  me  all  the  news  and  ended  by  asking,  "Do 
you  know  what  I  came  to  London  for?" 

"On  business,"  I  said.  "That  is  what  you  wrote 
me. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  "I  had  some  business  to  do,  but 
my  special  business  is  to  take  you  back  home." 

"That  is  great,"  I  exclaimed,  "and  I  am  ready  to 
go  with  you  any  time  you  may  wish  to  go." 

"I  know,"  he  replied,  "that  you  are  ready  to  go, 
but  there  is  one  condition  and  that  is  that  you  leave 
your  apostasy  behind." 

It  was  then  that  my  eyes  were  opened  and  I  realized 
that  my  greatest  trial  was  at  hand.  Confused  as  it 
left  me  for  a  moment,  with  a  clear  and  distinct  note 
I  told  him  that  such  a  thing  was  impossible,  as  I 
had  given  my  heart  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  to  abandon 
my  religion  I  would  have  to  tear  out  my  heart  also. 
He  smiled  sarcastically  and  informed  me  that  he  had 
full  power  from  my  father  to  have  me  excommuni- 
cated, disinherited,  disowned  by  the  family  and  con- 
sidered as  dead.  The  reason  that  it  had  not  been 
done  before  was  because  he  himself  had  interceded  for 
me,  hoping  to  get  in  touch  with  me  and  have  me  realize 
the  consequences.  I  told  him  again  that  before  ac- 
cepting the  Lord  Jesus  as  my  Saviour  I  had  struggled 
for  three  full  months  and  had  counted  the  cost.    I  was 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  29 

prepared  for  everything  and  every  loss  and  if  it  only 
depended  on  me  I  was  decided  to  leave  all  there  and 
then.  He  gently  pushed  me  out  of  the  door  and  told 
me  to  return  a  week  after  that  and  then  give  him  my 
final  answer. 

Oh,  the  horror  of  that  long,  seemingly  never-ending 
week !  The  devil  tried  his  very  best  to  get  a  new  hold 
on  me.  Due,  no  doubt,  to  my  state  of  nervousness 
and  sleepless  nights,  everything  seemed  to  go  wrong. 
I  fell  out  with  some  of  my  companions  in  the  home 
and  one  day,  provoked  to  anger  by  one  of  the  in- 
mates, I  broke  a  chair  over  his  head.  The  manager 
thought  it  best  to  expel  me  from  the  home.  No  one 
knew  of  the  great  trial  I  was  passing  through  except 
dear  Mr.  Clancy  and  he  asked  the  manager  to  over- 
look my  fault.  It  was  a  terrible  week  of  trial  and 
temptation  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  Lord  Himself 
I  would  have  surely  failed.  What  frightened  me  most 
was  the  terrible  Jewish  excommunication.  I  remem- 
bered, how  on  my  return  to  Russia  from  Germany, 
1  attended  upon  one  such  scene  where  a  poor  fellow 
was  excommunicated  for  some  foolish  little  fault,  I 
think  it  was  for  kissing  his  wife  too  soon  after 
childbirth  (a  thing  forbidden  by  the  Rabbis).  It  was 
a  harrowing  scene,  and  the  curses,  as  they  were  read 
out  by  the  rabbi,  made  me  shiver.  My  soul  revolted 
and  I  did  not  want  to  see  it  any  more,  much  less  be 
the  protagonist  himself  in  such  a  ceremony. 

Cursed  and  Disinherited. — The  week  ended  and  I 
went  out  fortified  by  the  prayers  of  that  man  of  God, 
Mr.  Qancy,  ready  to  give  my  testimony  eonceming 


30  A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

my  Saviour  and  Lord.  I  found  my  uncle,  or  rather 
both  of  my  uncles,  and  several  elderly  Jews,  whose 
flowing  white  beards  inspired  great  respect  and  at- 
tention. All  received  me  gladly  and  gave  me  a  hearty 
welcome.  We  had  a  long  talk  about  the  greatness  of 
the  God  of  Israel,  of  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac 
and  Jacob.  I  was  finally  asked  for  my  decision  and 
I  gave  it  to  them  in  a  few  very  simple  and  plain 
statements.  I  told  them  of  my  struggles  before  ac- 
cepting Jesus  as  the  Messiah.  I  gave  them  my  ex- 
perience when  I  first  went  to  hear  the  explanation 
of  the  Fifty-third  Chapter  of  Isaiah.  I  told  them  of 
my  life  and  happiness  since  then  and  of  my  desire 
to  serve  Him,  my  Saviour  and  Lord,  even  as  a 
printer,  helping  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  Him  whom 
to  know  is  life  eternal.  Sadness  came  upon  all  their 
faces,  especially  upon  those  of  my  uncles.  One  of 
the  elderly  Jews,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  informed  me 
of  the  consequences,  and  of  his  awful  duty  to  proceed 
with  my  excommunication  and  disinheritance.  I  told 
him  that  I  had  counted  the  cost,  that  I  was  ready  to 
go  to  the  limit  and  if  necessary  give  my  life  for 
the  Messiah. 

He  then  began  to  read  the  excommunication  cere- 
mony :  "Cursed  be  he  by  day,  cursed  by  night ;  cursed 
when  standing  and  cursed  when  lying  down;  cursed 
when  eating  and  cursed  when  drinking";  and  so  on 
for  a  long  time. 

At  first  my  heart  fell  within  me  and  it  seemed  to  me 
as  if  the  ground  upon  which  I  stood  opened  and  that 
I  was  being  hurled  into  a  bottomless  pit.     Oh,  the 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL         31 

horror  of  that  moment!  Thank  God  it  was  only  a 
moment!  Then  my  heart  cried  unto  my  Lord  and  it 
seemed  to  me  as  if  I  saw  Him  upon  the  Cross  with 
outstretched  arms  and  over  the  Cross  I  saw  written 
in  plain  and  shining  letters  that  wonderful  text: 

"HE  REDEEMED  US  FROM  THE  CURSE  OF 
THE  LAW,  BEING  MADE  A  CURSE  FOR  US." 
Galatians   3:13 

I  heard  the  good  old  man  finish  the  reading  of 
those  curses.  Tears  were  streaming  down  the  faces 
of  my  uncles  and  they  wept  as  if  their  hearts  would 
break,  but  my  own  soul  was  filled  with  a  peace  that 
passeth  all  imderstanding.  I  felt  myself  filled  with  a 
joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory.  When  the  good 
man  had  finished  reading  those  curses  and  he  gave 
me  to  understand  that  from  that  moment  on  I  was 
an  outcast  and  dead  to  the  family,  I  merely  said  in 
answer:  "Gentlemen,  is  that  all?"  They  nodded  their 
heads  in  assent.  I  then  said,  "Well,  good-bye,  and 
may  the  Lord  have  mercy  upon  your  souls." 

I  left  that  room  with  my  heart  rejoicing.  I  was 
so  happy  that  I  did  not  know  what  I  was  doing.  I 
walked  into  the  arms  of  a  big  policeman  and  he  asked 
me  if  I  was  drunk  and  I  told  him,  "No,  sir,  but  I 
am  very  happy !" 

Regions  Beyond  Mission  CoU^e. — I  spent  three 
wonderful  years  in  that  Home  for  Jewish  Converts. 
There  I  not  only  learned  a  trade,  but  also  how  to 
work  for  my  Master. 

One  other  great  joy  to  me  was  the  Sunday  School 


^         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

and  work  among  the  little  children.  It  was  at  one  of 
these  meetings  that  my  attention  was  called  to  the 
need  of  preparation  for  better  service.  I  was  having 
two  weeks'  vacation  at  the  seashore  in  Brighton,  help- 
ing in  the  meetings  for  the  children  on  the  seashore. 
It  was  there  I.  met  Miss  C.  Bishop,  a  young  English 
woman,  a  trained  nurse,  and  a  volunteer  for  foreign 
mission  work.  We  had  long  talks  together  about  the 
Master's  service  and  she  convinced  me  of  the  neces- 
sity of  consecrating  my  life  to  the  great  work  of  sav- 
ing souls  in  the  foreign  field.  On  my  return  to  the  city 
I  applied  to  the  China  Inland  Mission  for  work.  I 
was  called  before  the  Board  and  was  informed  that 
they  would  be  glad  to  send  me  out,  but  that  I  needed 
more  instruction  in  Christianity.  I  was  advised  to 
apply  to  some  seminary.  I  wrote  to  the  great 
London  preacher,  Charles  H.  Spurgeon,  stating  my 
need  and  desire.  I  received  a  very  kind  and  helpful 
letter,  telling  me  that  all  vacancies  in  his  seminary 
were  taken  and  even  if  they  had  a  vacancy  there 
were  a  great  many  of  their  own  denomination  waiting 
for  an  opening  and  that  it  would  be  better  for  me  to 
apply  to  the  Regions  Beyond  Missionary  Training 
School,  where  cases  like  mine  would  be  immediately 
taken  up.  Desirous  of  a  preparation  for  my  Master's 
service  I  wrote  immediately  to  Dr.  Grattan-Guinness 
and  it  was  not  long  until  I  received  the  welcome  letter 
advising  me  that  I  could  report  to  the  school,  Harley 
College,  Bow  Street,  London.  I  suppose  there  was 
no  happier  man  on  the  face  of  the  earth  than  the 
writer  when,  with  the  few  pieces  of  baggage  I  pos- 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  33 

sessed,  I  entered  the  gates  of  that  great  school.  I 
passed  three  years  of  my  life  there,  never-to-be- 
forgotten  years,  learning  not  only  how  to  rightly 
divide  the  Word  of  God,  but  also  how  to  work  ac- 
ceptably for  my  Master  and  Lord. 

Training  for  Work. — After  a  few  months  of  trial 
I  was  sent  to  Cliff  College,  Derbyshire,  a  branch  of  the 
Regions  Beyond  Missionary  Training  College,  where 
the  great  man  of  God,  Professor  Rutcliff,  wielded  a 
singular  influence.  It  was  there  that  I  received  the 
world  vision  of  work  to  be  done.  It  was  in  this  in- 
stitution that  I  began  to  realize  the  possibilities  of  a 
Hfe  for  Him  who  gave  His  life  for  me.  The  visits 
of  Dr.  Gordon,  Joseph  Parker,  F.  B.  Meyer,  Grattan- 
Guinness,  the  great  Bible  expositor  and  that  of  his 
son  Harry,  the  great  evangelist,  the  coming  and  going 
of  missionaries,  their  stories  of  heroism  in  the  far- 
away foreign  fields,  made  my  heart  yearn  to  do  and 
dare  something  also  and  when  the  three  years  were 
finished  and  I  received  an  invitation  to  the  Neglected 
Continent,  I  did  not  hesitate.  Although  I  had  no 
guarantee  for  my  support,  I  went,  fully  realizing  that 
I  was  in  His  service  and  was  ready  to  give  my  life 
and  my  all  to  Him  who  had  done  so  much  for  me. 

First  Attempts  in  Service. — During  my  three  years' 
stay  at  the  Regions  Beyond  Mission  College,  both  at 
Cliff  and  Harley  College,  I  took  active  part  in  mission 
work,  especially  during  the  holidays.  I  had  a 
permanent  work  at  the  Industrial  Home  situated  in 
the  London  slums  and  still  possess  a  beautiful  Bible, 
given  to  me  by  the  lady  superintendent,  Miss  Annie 


34         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

Macpherson,  in  the  name  of  the  co-workers  in 
recognition  of  services  rendered. 

Most  of  my  time  was  given  to  work  among  the 
Jews,  and  during  the  holidays  I  was  employed  by 
the  Mildmay  Mission  to  the  Jews  as  visitor  and  Bible 
distributor.  I  cannot  narrate  all  that  happened  to  me 
during  those  days;  however,  I  give  one  or  two  in- 
cidents which  will  show  the  difficulties  of  working 
among  the  Jews. 

Beaten  by  White-Slavers. — On  one  of  my  furloughs 
I  was  employed  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  the  in- 
coming boats  from  Europe  and  watching  for  girls  that 
were  smuggled  into  England  for  white-slavery.  My 
work  was  to  meet  the  boats  before  touching  the  docks 
and  find  out  the  destination  of  the  Jewish  girls. 

As  a  rule,  the  white-slavers  consigned  the  girls, 
either  married  or  to  be  married,  to  some  rascal  in 
London,  and  from  there  they  were  transferred  to 
some  other  country  for  exploitation.  It  was  easy  for 
me,  after  conversation  with  some  of  the  girls,  to  find 
out  where  they  were  going  and  then  call  their  attention 
to  what  was  awaiting  them.  Some  would  listen  to  me 
and  would  accept  the  offer  of  help  and  gladly  follow 
the  lady  to  whom  I  would  direct  them,  and  thus  be 
saved  from  a  life  of  shame  and  disgrace.  Others 
would  refuse  to  listen  to  reason,  and  these  I  had  to 
turn  over  to  the  proper  authorities.  Soon,  however, 
these  white-slavers  learned  of  my  work,  and  so  it  was 
not  long  after  that  they  waylaid  me  and  gave  me  a 
beating  from  which  it  took  me  a  long  while  to  re- 
cover.   Why  they  did  not  kill  me  I  cannot  imagine, 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  35 

except  that  the  Lord  had  some  other  work  for  me 
to  do. 

Thrown  Down  a  Spiral  Stair-Case. — At  another 
time,  I  was  visiting  the  Jewish  district  with  a  young 
Jewish  convert,  who  was  at  the  same  College  pre- 
paring himself  for  work  as  a  medical  missionary,  a 
Mr.  Davidson  by  name.  We  were  accosted  by  a  young 
Jewish  fellow  who  told  us  that  at  a  certain  building 
on  the  fifth  floor,  was  a  shoe  factory  where  all  em- 
ployees were  Jews  and  where  the  subject  of  Chris- 
tianity was  being  discussed  daily.  He  asked  us  to 
visit  the  place  and  bring  New  Testaments,  as  they 
were  very  anxious  to  possess  a  copy.  He  spoke  so 
earnestly  that  we  did  not  suspect  the  trap  that  had 
been  set  for  us.  When  we  appeared  there  later  in  the 
afternoon,  we  knocked  at  the  first  door  and  as  soon  as 
they  recognized  us  they  asked  us  to  go  to  the  next 
door.  When  we  reached  the  next  door,  all  men  work- 
ing in  the  first  room  came  out  with  their  implements 
of  work,  hammers,  stones,  and  knives  and  attacked 
us  from  behind,  barring  the  way  to  the  stair-case, 
the  only  way  of  escape,  while  those  of  the  second 
room  attacked  us  in  the  front.  As  soon  as  I  dis- 
covered the  situation  my  first  thought  was  to  save 
Davidson,  who  was  a  frail,  weak  young  fellow. 
Covering  him  with  my  body,  I  pushed  him  to  the  stairs 
and  made  him  run  down  telling  him  to  call  the  police. 
Meanwhile  the  group  of  Jews,  numbering  about  thirty 
or  forty,  after  belabouring  me  the  best  they  knew 
how  with  their  hammers  and  lasts,  got  hold  of  my 
limbs  and  turning  me  head  downwards  placed  me  in 


36         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

the  middle  of  the  spiral  stair-case  and  deliberately 
dropped  me  down  with  the  intention,  of  course,  of 
having  me  break  my  neck.  Fortunately  I  had  had 
excellent  training  while  in  Germany  and  I  had  not 
gone  far  down  the  space  when  I  managed  to  lay  hold 
of  the  spiral  stair-case  and  getting  astride  the  banister 
I  slid  down  and  made  good  my  escape,  which  was  a 
very  narrow  one  indeed. 

The  Call  to  Service. — ^The  above  experiences  as  well 
as  a  great  many  other  facts  convinced  me  that  my 
call  for  work  was  not  to  be  among  the  Jews,  but 
among  the  Gentiles.  Today  I  am  more  than  ever 
convinced  that  the  mission  of  the  converted  Jew  is 
not  to  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel,  but  to  those  who  know 
not  God,  the  true  God  and  his  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 
I  was  in  the  College  studying  and  biding  my  time  as 
well  as  awaiting  my  call.  I  knew  that  in  due  time  my 
Lord  would  open  a  way  for  me.  Meanwhile  I  was 
preparing  myself  the  best  way  possible  for  whatso- 
ever He  would  think  me  fit  to  do. 

While  in  College  I  received  several  invitations.  A 
missionary  from  India  came  to  see  me  and  we  talked 
and  prayed  long  and  earnestly  about  the  great  oppor- 
tunities for  work  in  that  great  field,  especially  in  tht 
line  of  the  translation  of  the  Scriptures,  but  that  work 
did  not  appeal  to  me.  Another  appeal  came  to  me  for 
work  in  Jamaica,  among  the  needy  negro  churches, 
but  I  passed  that  by.  One  day  young  Dr.  Harry 
Guinness,  called  me  to  his  office,  told  me  that  a  lady 
just  returned  from  Brazil,  where  she  and  her  deceasecf 
husband  had  spent  a  great  many  years,  was  anxiom 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  37 

to  send  out  a  missionary  to  that  country  on  the  fol- 
lowing plan:  Pay  his  passage  and  outfit  and  one 
hundred  pounds  sterling,  on  condition  that  he  learn 
the  language  and  work  for  a  year  as  a  self-supporting, 
independent  missionary.  Dr.  Guinness  thought  that  I 
was  the  man  for  that  work,  and  I  asked  for  time  to 
think  and  pray  about  it. 

That  offer  appealed  to  me.  Once  there  came  to  our 
Bible  Class  in  the  Mildmay  Hall,  a  Mr.  VanOrden,  a 
converted  Jew  and  Presbyterian  missionary  in  Brazil, 
who  told  us  about  the  opportunities  in  that  great 
neglected  field.  I  was  greatly  stirred  by  his  message 
and  remember  having  contributed  something  to  his 
printing  outfit,  though  my  salary  then  was  only  one 
shilling  a  week.  Then  also  when  a  child,  while  study- 
ing in  the  schools  of  Germany,  I  used  to  read  all  the 
books  I  could  secure  about  Brazil,  its  vast  prairies, 
its  wonderful  gold  mines  and  diamond  fields,  its  wild 
Indians  and  its  unexplored  regions.  Now  while  I 
prayed  for  light  all  those  facts  came  back  to  me  and 
the  neglected  Indians  seemed  to  loom  up  with  out- 
stretched hands  and  appeal  to  me  to  come  over  and 
help  them.  The  next  day  I  gave  Dr.  Guinness  my 
decision.  I  accepted  the  offer.  Though  I  did  not 
know  it  then  I  found  out  later  that  the  lady  in  ques- 
tion was  no  other  than  Mrs.  Kalley,  the  wife  of  the 
founder  of  the  Congregational  Mission  in  Brazil.  I 
was  invited  to  spend  a  week  with  that  good  lady  at 
her  home  in  Edinburgh,  where  I  suppose  I  was  duly 
inspected  and  must  have  given  satisfaction,  as  it  was 
not  long  after  that  I  was  told  to  prepare  for  my  trip 


38  A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

to  Brazil,  by  way  of  Portugal,  where  I  was  to  stay 
in  the  home  of  a  Brazilian  family  and  learn  the  in- 
tricacies of  the  Portuguese  language,  the  language 
used  in  Brazil. 

Ordination  Service  and  Farewell. — My  farewell  and 
ordination  service  took  place  at  the  Conference  Hall, 
Mildmay  Park,  London,  and  the  following  ministers 
took  part :  Rev.  John  Wilkinson,  Episcopal  minister 
and  director  of  the  Mildmay  Mission  to  the  Jews ; 
Rev.  H.  Grattan-Guinness,  D.  D.,  Baptist  minister  and 
director  of  the  Regions  Beyond  Mission ;  Rev.  Hudson 
Taylor,  of  the  China  Inland  Mission ;  Mr.  P.  S.  Bade- 
noch,  my  Bible  Teacher;  Honorable  James  Mathieson, 
director  of  the  Mildmay  Mission,  and  another  minister 
of  the  Wesleyans,  whose  name  I  cannot  recall.  It  was 
a  very  impressive  service  and  I  will  never  forget  the 
advice  and  counsels  given  to  me  during  that  solemn 
hour. 

My  farewells  did  not  take  long.  I  had  no  relatives 
in  England  to  whom  I  cared  to  say  good-bye.  My 
uncle  would  not  receive  me.  In  the  Home  of  the 
Mildmay  Mission  to  the  Jews  I  had  several  friends 
that  had  endeared  themselves  to  me  and  so  also  those 
of  Harley  College  and  some  of  the  companions  in  the 
different  mission  stations  where  I  had  been  working 
while  studying.  But  the  only  person  that  really  cared 
for  me,  in  some  sort  of  a  personal  way,  was  Miss 
Carrie  Bishop,  a  trained  nurse  of  the  Royal  Hospital, 
to  whom  I  was  then  engaged  and  who  was  the  last 
one  to  leave  the  boat  on  which  I  was  leaving  London. 
We  prayed  together  for  a  long  time  and  consecrated 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL         39 

our  lives  anew  to  the  Master  and  to  the  work  in  that 
great  and  neglected  continent,  to  which  I  was  then 
going,  and  to  which  she  was  to  come  after  a  year  or  so. 

I  left  London  on  January  21,  1890,  on  a  small  vessel, 
with  capacity  for  only  eight  passengers  for  Oporto, 
Portugal.  We  had  a  very  rough  voyage.  We  en- 
countered bad  weather  from  the  start  and  had  to  take 
refuge  several  times  in  several  ports  on  the  South 
coast  of  England.  It  took  us  twelve  days  to  make  a 
trip  that  usually  only  took  two  or  two  and  a  half  days. 
Finally  we  reached  Vigo,  on  the  coast  of  Spain,  in  a 
very  dilapidated  state,  and  after  a  little  trimming  and 
repairing  we  continued  our  voyage  reaching  Oporto, 
after  witnessing  a  most  wonderful  sunset,  the  Ocean 
being  transformed  into  a  veritable  sea  of  gold.  It 
seemed  as  if  nature  was  compensating  us  for  the  many 
days  of  suffering. 

Learning  the  Language. — I  reached  Oporto,  Por- 
tugal, on  February  2,  1890,  and  was  received  into  the 
home  of  Senor  Femandes  Braga,  a  rich  Brazilian 
merchant  and  consecrated  believer,  a  Portuguese  by 
birth,  who  was  spending  a  few  months  in  his  native 
country,  recuperating  from  effects  of  the  tropical  heat. 

In  the  home  of  this  good  Christian  family  I  began 
the  study  of  the  Portuguese  tongue.  I  was  very 
anxious  to  learn  the  language  as  soon  as  possible  and 
to  facilitate  my  object  I  gave  myself  to  the  task  of 
learning  at  least  a  hundred  words  per  day  out  of  the 
dictionary.  The  family  had  a  young  English,  though 
Portuguese-bom,  governess,  who  helped  me  wonder- 
fully in  the  way  of  pronouncing  the  words.     At  the 


40         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

end  of  the  first  month  I  had  a  fairly  good  number  of 
words  to  begin  on  and  so  resolved  to  write  a  tract 
first  in  English,  translate  it  into  Portuguese  and  then 
go  into  the  country  to  sell  it  to  the  people. 

My  First  Portuguese  Tract 

I  prepared  the  tract  giving  it  the  following  title: 
"wSao  Pedro  Nunca  Foi  Papa!"  ("Saint  Peter  was 
never  a  Pope").  The  study  of  this  subject  helped  me 
to  grasp  the  questions  that  always  arise  when  you 
talk  to  a  priest,  as  well  as  illustrate  to  the  public  one 
of  the  most  debatable  questions  among  them.  Mr. 
Jones,  an  independent  Baptist  merchant,  member  of 
Spurgeon's  Tabernacle,  helped  me  not  only  in  cor- 
recting the  final  proofs,  but  also  in  certain  important 
historical  data. 

After  printing  the  tract  I  stufi^ed  my  hand-bag  full 
of  them  and  put  my  dictionary  into  my  pocket  and 
boarded  a  train  for  my  first  venture  into  foreign 
mission  work.  I  had  been  only  a  month  in  Portugal 
and,  though  I  could  read  Portuguese,  I  was  not  able 
to  speak  it  nor  understand  it  very  easily. 

It  is  surprising  to  me  even  today  the  number  of 
tracts  I  sold.  I  really  did  not  meet  with  any  difficulties 
except  once  when  I  offered  the  tract  to  a  Catholic 
priest.  He  read  the  title  and  began  to  gesticulate  very 
excitedly.  Not  understanding  him  at  all,  I  just  smiled 
my  most  captivating  smile,  which  seemed  to  anger  him 
more  than  ever.  Finally  he  began  shaking  his  fist 
at  me,  which,  of  course,  I  understood  perfectly  an(v 
got  out  of  his  way,  but  the  Portuguese  passengers 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  41 

took  the  matter  up  for  me  and  made  the  place  so  tm- 
comfortable  for  the  poor  priest  that  he  had  to  leave 
the  car  at  the  next  stopping  place,  and  I  was  able  to 
sell  every  tract  I  had  with  me. 

Portuguese  University  Students. — ^Another  time  I 
was  in  the  city  of  Coimbra,  where  the  celebrated  Uni- 
versity is  situated,  and  sold  a  good  many  of  those 
tracts.  In  the  afternoon  the  University  students  saw 
me  and  suspected  that  I  was  English.  There  was  some 
political  trouble  between  England  and  Portugal  then 
and  I  had  purposely  published  on  the  title  page,  under 
my  name,  that  I  was  Russian.  A  group  of  the  str 
dents  soon  gathered,  and  followed  me  as  I  went  fron. 
house  to  house  offering  that  tract.  Finally  I  saw 
that  one  was  being  sent  to  look  into  the  matter. 

Upon  reaching  me,  he  brutally  snatched  a  tract 
out  of  my  hand  asked  me  what  I  was  doing.  I  told 
him  that  I  was  trying  to  sell  my  tracts. 

Then  he  began  a  tirade  against  the  English,  of 
which  I  could  not  understand  much,  except  what  I 
had  been  told  to  expect.  I  gently  called  his  attention 
to  the  fact  that  I  was  Russian  and  not  English.  As 
soon  as  he  was  convinced  of  the  fact,  he  beckoned  to 
his  companions  and  informed  them  that  I  was  Russian 
and  therefore  an  enemy  to  the  English  and  they 
cheered  me  for  all  I  was  worth.  Of  course,  I  sold 
every  tract  that  I  had  brought  with  me  and  was  indeed 
sorry  that  I  had  not  brought  thousands,  instead  of  a 
few  hundreds. 

Fleeing  From  Portugal. — Having  sold  some  three 
thousands  of  this  my  first  tract,  I  set  myself  to  write 


42  A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

another,  this  time  a  stronger  and  more  impertinent 
one  about  Roman  Catholic  teachings.  As  was  my 
habit  I  had  visited  and  examined  most  of  the  native 
churches,  I  found  a  great  many  relics  and  super- 
stitious rags  that  the  Roman  priesthood  was  exploit- 
ing and  against  which  my  heart  revolted.  The  wor- 
ship of  relics,  of  rags  and  bones  of  the  saints,  the 
idolatry,  the  overbearing  domination  of  the  priests, 
the  ignorance  concerning  God  among  the  people;  all 
these  things  stirred  me  powerfully.  I  then  wrote  the 
second  tract  entitled,  "The  Religion  of  Rags,  Bones 
and  Flour  ("A  Religiao  De  Trapos,  Ossos  E. 
Farinha").  After  getting  this  tract  in  shape  and 
selling  a  few  hundred  copies,  I  received  warning  that 
the  best  thing  I  could  do  would  be  to  leave  the  country 
immediately  as  the  Ultramontane  element  (Jesuits) 
were  working  up  a  case  against  me  to  put  me  in  prison, 
a  place  I  was  not  very  anxious  to  go  just  then.  So 
packing  into  my  trunk  the  few  articles  of  my  posses- 
sions and  taking  advantage  of  the  company  of  Mr. 
Maxwell  Wright,  a  celebrated  English-Portuguese 
evangelist,  who  was  then  going  to  Brazil  to  hold 
evangelistic  services,  I  left  Portugal.  I  reached  Rio 
de  Janeiro  on  June  10,  1890. 

My  stay  in  Portugal  had,  however,  been  very  help- 
ful to  me,  not  only  because  of  my  learning  the  lan- 
guage in  the  land  where  it  is  spoken,  but  also  because 
it  had  given  me  a  splendid  insight  into  the  working 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  Brazil  was  originally 
a  colony  of  Portugal  and  the  majority  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Brazil  are  descendants  of  Portuguese  stock. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  43 

What  I  appreciated  most  was  the  study  of  the 
Catholic  religion  in  Portugal  from  whence  it  was 
transplanted  into  the  colony,  and  which  today,  with 
very  little  modification,  is  the  religion  that  prevails 
in  Brazil.  Most  of  the  priests  in  Brazil  are  Portu- 
guese by  birth  whose  only  object  seems  to  be  to 
make  a  fortune  and  then  return  to  the  home-land  and 
live  in  prosperity  ever  after.  The  same  superstitions, 
the  same  ignorance  and  thoughtlessness  about  per- 
sonal responsibility  toward  God  and  toward  one  an- 
other prevails.  Rome  ruined  Portugal  and  made  it 
the  laughing-stock  of  other  nations.  Rome  is  doing 
the  same  in  Brazil  today.  Brazil,  although  the  richest 
in  natural  products  among  the  countries  of  the  world, 
is  today  being  degraded  by  the  craftiness  and  intrigues 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  just  as  has  been  the 
case  with  all  peoples,  nations  and  tribes  that  have 
come  under  its  baneful  influence. 


CHAPTER  11. 
GETTING  MY  BEARINGS. 

Among  Congregationalists. — I  had  no  definite  con- 
victions nor  settled  ideas  as  to  denominations.  I 
really  never  had  studied  the  question  of  denomina- 
tions on  account  of  my  conversion  having  taken  place 
in  an  undenominational  mission. 

Arriving  in  Brazil  I  naturally  looked  for  a  church 
of  an  undenominational  character.  I  found  that  the 
Fluminense  Church,  of  which  Dr.  Kalley  was  the 
founder  and  to  which  the  Braga  family  belonged,  was 
more  to  my  liking,  being  a  kind  of  a  Congregational 
church  with  a  Presbyterian  directorate.  One  thing 
especially  that  I  liked  about  it  was  the  fact  that  they 
did  not  practice  infant  baptism,  a  practice  that  my 
conscience  repelled  as  soon  as  I  accepted  Christianity. 
It  always  seemed  to  me  like  a  shadow  of  Judaism 
and  ceremonialism,  which  I  abhorred. 

The  pastor  of  this  church  was  the  Rev.  John  M.  G. 
dos  Santos,  a  native  Brazilian  educated  at  C.  H. 
Spurgeon's  College.  He  was  a  good  man,  but  ex- 
tremely conservative.  It  took  me  quite  a  time  to  con- 
vince him  that  I  had  no  intentions  of  substituting  him 
and  that  my  only  desire  was  to  help  him  in  his 
ministry.  As  an  illustration,  let  me  tell  what  he  did 
when  I  was  beginning  open-air  services  in  Brazil. 

The  First  Open  Air  Meeting  in  Brazil 
A  temporary  Constitution  had  been  adopted  by  the 
new  Republic  and  was  then  being  discussed.     In  it 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  45 

complete  liberty  was  given  to  all  faiths  and  creeds  and 
separation  of  Church  from  the  State  recommended. 
I  thought  it  an  excellent  time  to  try  the  worth  of 
such  a  law.  I  asked  the  pastor  to  announce  an  open- 
air  service  for  a  certain  Sunday  afternoon,  to  take 
place  on  the  same  square  on  which  the  Republic  was 
proclaimed.  Having  to  preach  that  morning  in 
Nictheroy,  across  the  bay,  I  was  not  present  at  the 
announcement.  I  was  informed  that  he  had  made  the 
following  statement: 

"Brother  Ginsburg  asked  me  to  tell  you  that  he 
intends  to  hold  an  open-air  meeting  on  the  Square 
of  the  Republic.  My  advice  to  you  is  not  to  go,  as 
the  Constitution  has  not  been  approved  and  we  may 
thus  endanger  the  adoption  of  such  a  law." 

At  three  o'clock  I  was  on  the  Square  and  looking 
around  for  helpers  I  only  found  four  women — a 
mother  with  her  two  daughters  and  one  sister.  Asking 
for  the  loan  of  a  stool  from  the  keeper  of  the  Public 
Garden,  situated  on  one  side  of  the  square,  I  climbed 
upon  it  and  started  singing  a  hymn.  Not  more  than 
a  minute  passed  before  a  great  multitude  stood  around 
us  listening  attentively  to  the  message  I  gave  them 
in  the  name  of  Jesus.  As  the  meeting  continued  more 
Hsteners  came  until  there  must  have  been  more  than 
five  thousand  standing  around  us.  I  told  them  of 
Jesus  and  His  power  to  save  and  nothing  else  hap- 
pened than  a  man  shouting: 

"Why  don't  you  tell  us  something  about  the  Virgin 
Mary.  You  speak  only  of  Jesus,  Jesus ;  tell  us  some- 
thing about  Mary." 


46         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

I  did  not  pay  any  attention  to  that  and  continued 
to  preach  Qirist  and  Him  crucified.  It  was  a  glorious 
beginning.  When  I  finished  my  discourse  a  group  of 
about  a  hundred  members  of  the  church  were  near 
me  and  said,  "What  a  fine  meeting  that  was !"  I  said, 
"Yes,  but  not  with  your  help." 

Work  in  Nictheroy. — During  my  first  few  months  in 
Brazil  I  worked  across  the  bay  in  the  Nictheroy 
church  or  rather  congregation.  I  found  a  small  group 
of  believers  that  had  preaching  in  the  home  of  a 
family  about  once  a  month.  We  soon  changed  that 
to  full-time  preaching.  We  rented  a  house  on  one 
of  the  principal  streets  of  the  city  right  in  front  of  the 
bay,  I  began  a  series  of  meetings  that  grew  in  interest 
and  power.  The  open-air  services  helped  wonderfully 
and  I  began  to  hold  them  regularly  all  over  the  town. 
In  one  of  the  districts,  known  as  the  toughest,  the 
people  tried  to  topple  over  the  chair  on  which  I  was 
standing  with  the  object  of  falling  on  me  and  stabbing 
or  wounding  me.  The  believers,  however,  stood 
around  the  chair  that  was  serving  as  my  platform  and 
when  any  of  the  ruffians  attempted  to  get  in  between 
them  they  closed  up  shoulder  to  shoulder  and  kept 
them  away. 

Kicked  Out  of  a  Store. — My  financial  support,  at 
that  time  I  received  from  selling  Bibles  and  books. 
It  is  a  work  that  helps  one  to  get  better  acquainted 
with  the  people.  The  work,  however,  is  very  dif- 
ficult, especially  with  what  I  tried  to  do  in  the  church, 
but  it  gives  excellent  experience  and  helps  wonder- 
fully in  the  acquisition  of  the  language. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  47 

One  day  I  went  into  a  store  in  one  of  the  suburbs 
of  Rio  de  Janerio  and  offered  for  sale  a  Bible.  The 
man  refused  to  buy;  but  as  I  thought  that  the  man 
ought  to  buy  one,  I  insisted  until  he  lost  his  temper 
and  laying  hold  of  me  and  the  books  deliberately 
kicked  me  out  of  his  store. 

I  calmly  picked  up  the  books,  wiped  the  dirt  off 
their  covers  and  returned  to  the  store  again.  I  in- 
formed the  man,  in  the  best  Portuguese  I  knew,  that 
he  had  committed  a  crime  because  having  a  public 
store,  with  an  open  door,  he  naturally  had  to  have 
people  coming  in  to  buy  or  to  sell  and  that  his  way 
of  treating  me  was  altogether  inhuman.  If  I  had 
committed  any  crime  the  police  were  there  to  protect 
him,  but  that  he  had  no  right  to  throw  me  out  like 
he  did  and  injure  the  goods  I  had  for  sale.  The  best 
thing,  I  suggested,  for  him  to  do  was  to  buy  the 
book  I  offered,  or  else  I  would  call  the  police  and 
tell  them  what  he  had  done.  The  man  bought  the 
Bible. 

Selling  Gospels  in  Front  of  a  Catholic  Church 

One  day  I  was  in  very  great  need  of  money.  I  did 
not  have  a  cent  of  my  own  and  was  very  hungry.  I 
went  to  the  agency  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society  and  asked  for  100  Gospels  of  John.  I  took 
them  to  the  most  frequented  Public  Square  in  Rio, 
right  at  the  head  of  the  celebrated  Ouvidor  Street. 
Climbing  up  the  steps  of  the  Catholic  Church  situated 
on  that  Square  I  offered  to  the  worshippers  coming 
and  going  to  and  from  the  church  the  Gospel  of  John, 
and  in  less  than  a  half  hour  I  had  the  hundred  copies 


48         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

sold.  When,  I  returned  with  another  hundred  I 
found  a  priest  watching.  I  suppose  some  one  must 
have  called  his  attention  to  it.  Though  there  is  no 
difference  between  our  edition  and  the  one  published 
by  the  Catholics,  yet  the  priest  does  not  want  hii 
people  to  read  the  Bible  and  I  thought  it  best  to 
leave  the  place. 

Evangelizing  In  the  Interior. — Mr.  Maxwell  Wright, 
who  had  crossed  the  ocean  on  the  same  steamer  with 
me  in  1890,  was  holding  evangelistic  services  in  the 
various  evangelical  churches  of  Rio.  My  knowledge 
of  the  Portuguese  language  at  that  time  was  rather 
imperfect  and,  being  unable  to  preach,  I  did  my  best 
to  fill  the  churches  for  the  preacher,  inviting  the  public 
and  sometimes  rather  forcing  them  to  go  in.  I  know 
that  in  many  places,  were  it  not  for  such  efforts  he 
would  have  preached  to  empty  benches.  At  least  that 
was  what  he  himself  told  me. 

After  a  period  of  work  in  the  great  city  of  Rio  de 
Janeiro  we  went  into  the  interior  and  had  wonderful 
times  together.  Mr.  Wright  was  a  good  Gospel 
preacher  and  knew  the  langur  /e  well,  though  his 
pronunciation  was  markedly  continental  arid  not 
Brazilian.  The  people  liked  it  though,  as  it  soundec* 
like  he  was  a  native  Portuguese  instead  of  an  English- 
man. We  usually  managed  to  obtain  the  largest  hall 
in  the  town,  as  a  rule  the  Public  Theatre,  and  the 
crowds  would  come  to  listen  to  the  Gospel  message. 
During  the  day  I  would  visit  the  homes  and  sell  all 
the  Bibles  and  books  I  could.  I  certainly  enjoyed  that 
kind  of  work. 


PLATE  VII.    RIO  BAPTIST  COLLEGE  AND  SEMINARY,  RIO. 

1.  J.   W.  Shepard,  President 

2.  Baron's   Palace,   Now   Seminary  Buildinc. 

3.  Jttdson   Hall    (Main   Building). 

4.  Bttildiac  and  Grounds,  Girls'  Department. 
I.  Htm  Dormitory. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  49 

In  my  seminary  days  I  was  taught  that  the  best 
way  to  evangelize  people  was  to  visit  certain  places, 
preach  for  a  few  days  or  a  week,  visit  during  the  day 
and  then  go  to  another  city.  There  is  nothing  like 
experience  and  keeping  your  eyes  open.  I  found  the 
following  to  be  the  case:  After  preaching  for  a  few 
days  in  a  place  with  good  results  apparently,  selling 
books  and  having  a  good  many  people  stand  up  and 
manifest  a  desire  to  follow  the  Lord  Jesus  and  His 
teaching,  we  would  find  on  our  return  trip,  that  most 
of  these  we  left  interested  would  refuse  to  receive  us. 
The  reason  for  it  was  apparent. 

After  we  left  the  city  the  priest  would  go  from 
home  to  home  and  take  the  books  and  bum  or  destroy 
them  and  would  then  fill  the  hearts  and  minds  of  those 
people  with  intense  prejudice  against  us. 

Apostolic  Plans 
This  experimental  knowledge  was  a  great  blessing 
to  me,  for  it  helped  me  wonderfully  in  my  work  for 
the  future.  I  realized  then  that  the  Apostolic  plan 
of  evangelizing  a  place  was  to  stay  in  the  place  until 
a  church  was  organized.  That  is  the  only  way  to  do 
the  Master's  work  effectively.  The  sufferings  the 
native  converts  have  to  undergo  is  almost  impossible 
to  describe.  Especially  is  this  the  case  in  the  smaller 
villages  where  the  priest  is  feared  and  where  every- 
body knows  everybody  else.  For  a  man  or  a  woman 
to  face  the  opposition  of  his  own  people  or  of  the 
priest  and  of  the  leading  men  of  the  place  necessitates 
g^eat  courage.  It  is  only  the  power  of  the  blood  of 
Jesus  that  enables  a  person  to  do  this.    Even  then, 


50  A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

the  missionary  has  to  stand  by  the  convert  and  help 
him  to  overcome  those  trying  days  until  the  young 
convert  is  able  to  stand  alone. 

Using  the  Printed  Page. — One  other  way  of  evange- 
lizing that  I  tried  during  those  early  days  was  through 
the  printed  page.  With  the  help  of  Senor  Fernandes 
Braga  I  published  a  little  monthly  paper  on  the  style 
of  "The  Christian,"  of  London.  The  title  of  that 
paper  was  "O  Biblia"  (The  Bible-Man),  because  the 
believers  in  Rio  de  Janeiro  were  known  by  that  name 
on  account  of  always  carrying  a  copy  of  the  Bible 
with  them.  Up  to  the  present  time  the  believers  in 
Rio  and  neighborhood  are  known  by  that  name.  In 
other  States  they  are  known  as  Protestants  or  Bap- 
tists. The  value  of  that  paper  as  an  evangelizing 
agency  was  proved  by  the  fact  that  nearly  all  the  be- 
livers  received  and  supported  it  and  up  until  today 
the  paper  is  read,  though  now  it  has  the  title  of 
"O  Christao"  (The  Christian). 

Visiting  Pemambuco. — Unable  to  accomplish  and 
carry  out  my  plans  of  work  in  Rio  de  Janeiro  on  ac- 
count of  the  opposition  from  the  native  pastor,  I 
gladly  welcomed  an  invitation  from  Mr.  Fanstone,  a 
Canadian  Baptist,  who  was  doing  excellent  mission 
work  in  the  gfreat  city  of  Pernambuco,  to  substitute 
for  him  while  he  was  on  his  furlough  to  England. 
I  left  Rio  for  Pernambuco  in  the  beginning  of  1891 
and  took  charge  of  Mr.  Fanstone's  work  as  substitute 
pastor.  The  church  in  Pernambuco  had  about  100 
godly  and  consecrated  members  with  whom  I  had  a 
blessed  time.    During  the  eight  months  I  spent  with 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  51 

them  I  had  some  of  the  most  glorious  experiences  of 
my  life.     I  will  mention  a  few  of  them. 

Utilizing  Market  Day  in  Cabo. — For  my  support  I 
was,  as  usual,  selling  books.  Putting  into  use  my 
Jewish  instinct  I  made  quite  a  success  of  it,  selling 
many  Bibles  and  much  other  literature  and  making 
enough  for  myself  and  many  of  the  poor  of  the 
church. 

In  the  neighboring  cities  and  villages  Saturday  was 
weekly  market  day.  All  I  had  to  do  was  to  buy  a 
license,  costing  about  500  reis  (10  cents),  and  then  I 
had  permission  to  sell  my  Bibles  and  literature  during 
the  entire  day. 

About  forty  miles  from  the  city  Pernambuco  was  a 
place  called  Cabo.  It  was  a  prosperous  little  village 
to  which  a  great  many  farmers  would  come  from  all 
over  the  neighborhood  to  sell  their  goods.  I  sold 
Bibles  and  books  there  for  four  Saturdays  in  succes- 
sion and  every  time  I  went  I  would  sell  every  book 
I  had  taken  with  me. 

On  the  fifth  Saturday,  however,  when  I  reached  the 
place  I  saw  that  my  steps  were  being  closely  watched. 
As  soon  as  I  got  my  stand  on  the  market  place  a 
great  crowd  of  buyers  gathered  around  me.  Looking 
up  T  saw  that  the  priest  was  coming  with  a  crowd  of 
his  faithful  flock  and  every  one  was  carrying  a  club. 
It  so  happened  that  the  priest  was  the  political  boss 
of  the  town.  An  illegitimate  son  of  a  rich  sugar 
farmer,  with  a  brother,  or  rather  half  brother,  in  a 
prominent  political  position,  he  had  ever3rthing  in  his 
favor,  including  judge,  justice  and  all.    I  realized  soon 


52  A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

that  any  stand  I  took  would  be  useless  and  to  avoid 
disagreeable  handling  by  a  hundred  or  more  fana- 
tical and  infuriated  men,  incited  by  an  all-powerful 
mulatto  priest,  I  decided  to  leave  the  field  to  him. 
Gathering  up  the  books  that  the  would-be  buyers  were 
then  handling  I  mingled  in  among  the  crowd  of  peo- 
ple, passed  on  to  the  other  side  of  my  persecutors  and 
took  to  the  sugar  cane  fields. 

1  walked  for  over  three  hours  and  finally  reached 
the  nearest  railroad  station,  where  I  took  a  train  back 
to  Pernambuco,  which  I  was  glad  to  reach  with  my 
skin  unscathed.  I  may  state,  however,  that  my  time 
was  not  lost,  as  I  sold  Bibles  all  along  the  road,  and 
arrived  home  with  my  satchel  empty,  as  usual. 

I  very  seldom  ran  away  from  a  persecuting  crowd, 
but  there  is  no  valour  in  resisting  a  mad  crowd  of 
over  100  fanatics  led  by  a  good-for-nothing  priest. 
However,  the  precious  seed  sown  was  not  lost  for  it 
brought  forth  in  its  own  time  abundant  fruits,  lead- 
infif  many  to  Christ.  Today  we  have  a  splendidly 
organized  Baptist  Church  in  Cabo  that  is  doing  excel- 
lent work  for  the  Master. 

In  Prison  for  the  First  Time. — Another  interesting 
experience  I  had  at  that  time  in  Pernambuco  was  at 
an  open-air  service.  We  used  to  hold  those  meetings 
every  Sunday  afternoon.  A  good  many  souls  were 
converted  through  these  efforts. 

One  of  my  best  helpers  was  a  self-supporting 
Methodist  missionary,  the  Rev.  George  B.  Nind,  a  very 
excellent  man  of  God.  He  supported  himself  by 
teaching  music  in  some  of  the  best  schools  and  col- 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  53 

leges.  Every  Sunday  afternoon  he  would  come  to 
our  open-air  service  dressed  in  liis  tall  hat  and  long 
coat,  and  lead  the  singing  of  our  hymns.  One 
Sunday  a  group  of  drunken  men  came  to  the  open-air 
service  and  began  provoking  this  good  Methodist 
brother  by  striking  his  tall  hat  with  a  switch.  He 
suffered  this  as  long  as  he  possibly  could  resist. 
Presently  he  lost  his  patience  and  fell  upon  the  man 
and  tried  to  drag  him  to  the  police  station. 

The  companions  of  this  wretch,  however,  came  to 
his  rescue  and  a  fight  ensued  which  ended  in  my  good 
brother  instead  of  the  ruffian  being  lead  to  the  police 
station.  I  protested  and  dismissing  the  meeting  went 
up  to  the  two  policemen  that  were  leading  my 
Methodist  brother  and  demanded  his  release;  but 
they  would  not  pay  any  attention  to  what  I  had  to 
say.  Without  great  difficulty  I  wrenched  the  brother 
out  of  their  hands. 

Then,  of  course,  they  laid  hands  on  me  also  and 
took  me  to  the  police  station,  which  was  really  what 
I  wanted.  Our  imprisonment  caused  a  great  commo- 
tion at  police  headquarters  and  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  himself  came  to  make  apologies  «ind  to  give 
us  back  our  freedom.  While  we  were  in  custody  the 
church  was  praying  and  when  we  were  freed  we 
found  the  hall  crowded.  The  Lord  gave  us  that 
night  many  souls.  It  certainly  was  a  great  reward  for 
the  little  we  suffered. 

Anxious  to  Read  the  Word  of  God. — Just  another 
illustration  about  the  power  of  God  and  the  heart- 
hunger  of  the  Brazilian  converts.    A  poor  mail  carrier 


54         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

was  converted.  During  his  life  as  a  slave,  his  legs  had 
been  hurt  and  he  walked  knock-kneed.  To  deliver 
the  mail  he  walked  a  distance  of  about  75  miles. 
Soon  after  his  conversion  he  asked  me  to  teach  him 
to  read.     He  was  about  50  years  old. 

"Why  do  you  want  to  learn  to  read?"  I  asked  him. 
He  replied,  "First,  because  I  want  to  read  with  my 
own  eyes  the  letter  of  my  Father  in  Heaven;  then 
also,  as  I  walk  along  the  road  delivering  mail  from 
farm  to  farm,  I  should  like  to  be  able  to  deliver  my 
Father's  letter  to  all  that  do  not  know  him  yet." 

I  bought  him  a  copy  of  an  A  B  C  book  and  taught 
him  the  letters.  When  he  returned  from  his  first 
trip,  a  fortnight  afterwards,  he  knew  the  whole  book. 

I  then  gave  him  a  copy  of  a  New  Testament,  printed 
in  large  black  type,  and  taught  him  how  to  read  and 
use  it.  He  took  it  with  him  and  on  his  return  from 
the  next  trip  he  told  me  of  the  remarkable  things  he 
was  able  to  do.  As  soon  as  he  reached  a  farm,  espe- 
cially where  he  had  to  stay  all  night,  after  delivering 
the  mail,  he  would  sit  down  in  some  corner  of  the 
kitchen  and  take  out  his  Testament  and  stammeringly 
start  reading  a  verse  or  so.  Soon  everybody  with 
eyes  and  ears  open  would  come  and  listen  and  give 
their  comments.  Interesting  talks  would  start  last- 
ing through  a  great  part  of  the  night. 

The  seed  sown  by  that  good  man  has  brought  forth 
abundant  results.  Many  souls  were  brought  into  the 
kingdom  of  God  through  the  testimony  and  labors  of 
this  good  man  of  God,  who  is  now  enjoying  his  re- 
ward. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL         55 

Herculano:  A  Miracle  of  Grace. — "Lord,  have  com- 
passion on  a  poor  sinner !"  was  the  continual  wail  and 
cry  of  a  big  giant  of  a  Brazilian,  as  he  lay  rolling  on 
the  floor  of  his  adobe  cabin,  in  an  agony  of  tears, 
touched  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  realizing,  for  the  first 
time  in  his  life,  the  awful,  sinful  state  of  his  soul  in  the 
presence  of  God. 

A  day  before  he  had  climbed  the  stairs  leading  to 
our  preaching  nail  in  Pemambuco.  I  was  preaching 
about  the  "Blood  of  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  cleansing 
from  all  sin.''  Herculano  had  hstened  with  eyes 
riveted  on  me.  One  could  easily  perceive  that  never 
before  had  such  teaching  reached  his  ears  nor  his 
hungry  heart. 

The  preaching  over,  I  went  to  where  the  new- 
comer stood,  and,  as  was  my  custom,  inquired  as  to 
his  appreciation  of  what  he  had  heard.  He  expressed 
himself  highly  satisfied,  and  when  asked  if  he  would 
like  a  visit  to  his  home,  where  these  truths  could  be 
gone  over  with  more  care  and  calmness,  he  readily 
assented  and  a  meeting  was  arranged  for  next  day. 

Little  did  I  realize,  being  new  in  the  field,  the 
danger  which  I  would  encounter.  I  was  soon  informed 
that  the  place  where  this  Brazilian  was  living  was 
one  of  the  most  dangerous  in  Pernambuco — a  verit- 
able den  of  thieves  and  murderers — which  even  the 
police  feared  to  enter  alone,  and  strangers  that  had 
ventured  there  were  never  heard  from  again.  Imagine 
my  feelings  when  told  about  these  things ;  but  as  I 
had  given  my  word  to  meet  the  man  I  resolved,  after 
prayer  and  a  renewed  consecration  of  my  life  to  the 


56         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

Master,  to  go  and  meet  him  even  at  the  risk  of 
my  life. 

At  the  appointed  place  and  hour  I  was  by  the  side 
of  this  great  Hercules  of  a  Brazilian,  walking  from 
the  street  car  across  a  small  rickety  old  bridge  made 
of  a  few  planks,  into  that  dangerous  district.  People 
who  saw  me  pass  watched  with  curiosity,  and  some 
with  pity,  imagining  the  speedy  end. 

When  we  reached  the  small  adobe  hut,  the  home  of 
Herculano,  everybody  inside  seemed  to  disappear,  his 
wife,  his  children,  the  dog  and  the  cats — all  seemed  to 
fear  his  presence  and  fly  for  their  lives. 

Nothing  had  been  said  as  yet  concerning  religion, 
and  as  I  was  invited  to  enter  the  house  and  to  be 
seated  upon  an  old  kerosene  box,  I  could  not  help  but 
notice  the  blood-shot  eyes  and  murderous  features  of 
him  whose  home  I  had  entered  for  the  first  time. 

Realizing  my  position  and  that  perhaps  this  was 
my  last  opportunity  to  speak  of  Christ  and  His  power 
to  save  I  made  up  my  mind  to  speak  plainly  and 
clearly  and,  after  sitting  down  on  that  dirty,  old, 
rickety  box,  I  expressed  myself  as  follows: 

"My  dear  friend,  I  really  do  not  know  who  yoti 
are  and  what  you  intend  doing  with  me.  After  ar- 
ranging for  our  meeting  here  I  was  informed  of  the 
danger  of  coming  to  this  place,  of  the  kind  of  people 
that  live  here  and  of  what  has  happened  to  many  a 
stranger  who  ventured  into  this  district.  But  as  I 
noticed  last  night  your  hunger  for  something  better 
and  your  desire  to  learn  more  about  Jesus  and  his 
power  to  save,  I  resolved  to  keep  my  promise  and 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL         57 

come  and  tell  you  these  facts  even  at  the  risk  of  my 
life.  Personally,  I  may  tell  you,  that  I  am  not  afraid 
to  die,  because  my  soul  is  safe  and  sure  in  the  keep- 
ing of  Jesus,  my  Saviour  and  Lord.  I  am  more  con- 
:erned  about  your  soul  than  about  my  own  life." 

The  countenance  of  that  man  can  be  more  easily 
imagined  than  described.  He  turned  pale  and  his  big 
body  trembled  to  such  an  extent  that  I  feared  that 
something  was  going  to  happen  to  him.  He  after- 
wards confessed  to  me  that  he  was  struggling  with 
himself  not  to  fall  on  me  and  strangle  me — but  that 
something,  some  invisible  power,  withheld  him  and 
would  not  let  him  move. 

"Tell  me  more  about  Jesus  and  how  he  saves/'  he 
then  exclaimed.  "What  you  spoke  about  last  night  in 
that  hall  disturbed  my  sleep.  I  have  been  thinking 
and  wondering  if  what  you  affirmed  last  night  was 
really  the  truth.     I  never  heard  anything  like  it." 

In  simple,  plain  language  I  explained  to  him  the 
gospel  of  salvation  through  Jesus  Qirist:  How  God 
gave  his  only  begotten  Son  to  die  in  our  stead  on  the 
cruel  cross,  and  how  we  can  obtain  a  full  pardon  if  we 
repent  and  forsake  sin,  and  accept  this  blessed  offer. 

The  words  did  not  seem  to  reach  the  heart  and 
mind  of  the  poor  man,  and  I  was  almost  despairing 
of  ever  being  able  to  reach  him  when  I  bethought 
myself  of  calling  t-o  my  aid  the  Spirit  of  God,  and, 
turning  to  the  DOor  fellow  who  was  sitting  and  staring 
in  a  most  helpless  condition  of  despair,  I  said  to  him : 

'*My  dear  friend,  I  can  perceive  that  my  words  do 
not  reach  your  understanding ;  let  us  ask  God  to  make 


58         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

these  things  plain  to  you.  Now  if  you  really  desire 
to  know  these  blessed  truths,  let  us  kneel  down  and 
ask  God,  who  is  here  with  us  ready  to  bless  you — let 
us  ask  Him  to  pity  and  save  you." 

I  then  slipped  to  my  knees  and  the  big  giant  who, 
very  likely,  had  never  previously  bent  his  knees  before 
his  Maker,  knelt  down  beside  me.  Then,  with  a 
trembling  voice,  and  eyes  overflowing  with  tears,  I 
began  pleading  with  God  on  behalf  of  this  poor  soul. 

The  answer  was  not  delayed! 

Soon  I  heard  a  body  fall  prostrate  to  the  floor  and 
a  choked  voice,  which  seemed  to  come  from  the  bottom 
of  a  heart  touched  by  sorrow  and  despair,  pleading 
for  mercy  and  forgiveness. 

"Oh,  God!  save  a  poor  degraded,  miserable  lost 
sinner!"  was  the  piteous,  continual,  cry  of  this  poor 
man  as  he  was  rolling  in  agony  on  the  floor. 

With  tears  of  repentance,  of  shame  and  sorrow,  he 
told  of  his  terrible  and  miserable  life:  That  he  was 
the  hired  assassin  of  one  of  the  most  influential  poli- 
ticians of  the  State;  that  only  a  few  days  before  he 
had  returned  from  the  convict  island  to  which  he  had 
been  sent,  sentenced  to  thirty  years'  imprisonment,  but 
had  been  pardoned  after  seventeen  years ;  and  that 
the  day  after  his  arrival  on  shore  he  had  received 
orders  to  do  away  with  a  person  and  had  done  it. 

Herculano,  by  the  power  of  God,  became  a  new 
man  and  a  powerful  instrument  in  the  Master's  Cause. 
He  was  afterwards  baptized  by  Dr.  W.  E.  Entzminger. 
His  home  became  a  center  of  spiritual  influences  which 
slowly  transformed  the  whole  district,  not  only  into 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  59 

a  place  of  safety,  but  also  prosperity.  Every  time  I 
went  to  preach  in  that  district,  Herculano  would  stand 
by  me  and  none  dared  to  throw  a  stone  at  me  for  fear 
of  the  great,  big  giant  whose  fame  was  known  to  all 
and  who,  though  converted,  was  still  feared  by  every- 
body. 

In  all  his  difficulties,  trials  and  temptations — and 
these,  after  his  conversion,  seemed  to  multiply— espe- 
cially with  his  own  family,  who  would  insult  and  call 
him  a  coward  because  he  had  given  up  making  a 
living  by  murder — in  all  these  trials  he  would  come 
to  me  and  open  his  heart  and  then  both  of  us  would 
kneel  down  and  put  it  all  into  the  hands  of  God,  feel- 
ing secure  in  His  power. 

One  day,  very  early  in  the  morning,  while  I  was  in 
my  study,  Herculano  came  in  all  upset,  with  his  eyes 
full  of  blood  and  his  features  speaking  plainly  of 
murder. 

*  What  is  the  matter,  Herculano  ?  What  is  troubling 
you  now?" 

"Oh,  Pastor,  I  want  to  kill  a  man.  My  heart  just 
tells  me  to  go  and  kill  him,"  and  tears  came  rolling 
down  his  cheeks. 

"But  why?     What  has  happened,  Herculano?" 

And  then  he  told  a  pitiful  tale  of  how  he  had  given 
hospitality  to  a  former  companion  of  his  who  had  just 
been  freed  from  the  prison  island  and  while  he  was 
away,  very  early,  and  his  wife  had  gone  to  the  market, 
this  criminal  had  outraged  his  little  daughter,  a  child 
of  only  eight  years  old. 

"Pastor,  my  heart  tells  me  to  go  and  kill  that 


60  A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

man.  ...  I  know  where  I  can  lay  my  hands  on  him." 

"Let  us  ask  the  Lord  about  it,  Herculano,"  I  said. 
"Let  us  see  what  the  Lord  will  tell  you  to  do."  With 
a  troubled  heart  and  a  bleeding  soul  in  pity  and  sym- 
pathy for  the  poor  father,  I  laid  the  whole  affair 
before  the  Lord,  pleading  for  wisdom  and  comfort 
and  peace  on  behalf  of  this  poor  brother. 

The  answer  came!  We  arose  from  our  knees  com- 
forted and  strengthened.  We  both  went  to  the  chief 
of  police  who  took  the  matter  in  hand  and  brought 
the  criminal  to  justice. 

Herculano  continued  firm  and  faithful  to  the  end. 
A  few  days  before  his  death  he  came  again  and  told 
me  that  he  had  come  to  say  "adeus"  for  good. 

"Why,  what  is  the  matter  now?" 

"Well,  you  see,  pastor,  my  wife  will  not  look  after 
me  and  I  am  going  to  the  hospital  to  be  treated  and 
am  sure  that  I  will  not  come  back  alive." 

"Do  not  say  that,"  I  exclaimed,  "you  are  strong 
and  quite  able  to  survive  an  operation  and  we  expect 
a  great  deal  from  you  yet.  Do  not  be  so  discouraged. 
Go  and  get  well,  and  let  us  know  how  you  are  doing." 

Not  a  word  came  from  him  and  when  a  week  after- 
wards I  made  inquiries  I  was  informed  that  Herculano 
had  died  a  few  days  after  his  entrance  and  that  up  to 
the  last  moment  he  had  spoken  of  Christ  and  his  love 
and  His  power  to  save.  To  the  priest,  who  wanted 
him  to  confess,  he  replied :  "I  have  already  confessed 
myself  to  Christ." 

What  a  Stereopticon  Slide  Did. — It  is  really  re- 
markable how  the  Lord  uses  little  things,  unthought  of 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  61 

incidents,  to  call  people  to  His  truth  as  well  as  to 
greater  service.  While  I  was  in  England  I  would 
not  listen  to  any  denominational  discussion.  Even  in 
the  seminary,  where  all  kinds  of  denominational  dif- 
ferences were  tabooed,  but  where  I  was  approached 
several  times  on  the  question  of  baptism,  I  refused  to 
consider  it,  thinking  that  such  questions  were  not 
necessary  to  the  development  of  the  kingdom  of  God 
on  earth.  I  always  thought  such  questions  were  de- 
trimental to  its  growth  and  development. 

However,  I  was  not  long  on  the  field,  and  in  active 
service,  until  I  discovered  that  such  questions  were 
vital  to  the  stability  and  continual  growth  of  the 
work  and  that  definite  positions  had  to  be  taken  by 
leaders  and  workers  if  they  desired  to  be  true  guides 
to  the  believers  and  make  them  firm  in  the  faith  once 
given  to  the  saints. 

One  of  the  questions  that  forced  itself  upon  my 
attention  very  early  in  my  work  was  that  of  baptism. 
The  Baptists  in  Rio  de  Janeiro  were  very  active  in 
propagating  their  distinctive  principles  and  con- 
sequently many  of  the  converts  of  other  evangelical 
churches  were  drawn  into  the  Baptist  fold.  No  pastor 
likes  to  see  his  people  disturbed  and  much  less  led 
away  by  divers  doctrines.  The  Apostle  teaches  us  to 
look  out  for  such  and  admonish  them.  Some  of  the 
deacons  of  the  church  with  which  I  was  then  work- 
ing, called  my  attention  to  these  things  and  urged  me 
to  attack  the  enemy  with  all  my  might.  I  was  editing 
a  monthly  paper  and  I  determined  to  study  the  ques- 
tion thoroughly  and  publish  an  article  or  tract  that 


62  A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

would  answer  all  the  arguments  of  those  Baptists. 
As  they  appealed  to  the  Scriptures  for  the  justification 
of  their  belief  and  conduct  I  began  studying  the 
Scriptures  preparatory  to  answering  these  argu- 
ments. 

One  incident  incited  me  to  do  that  immediately  and 
that  was  the  loan  of  a  set  of  slides  by  the  Rev.  W.  B. 
Bagby,  the  resident  Baptist  Missionary  in  Rio  de 
Janeiro.  Among  those  slides  was  one  representing  the 
Baptism  of  Jesus  by  John  in  the  river  Jordan.  As  I 
threw  the  slides  on  the  screen  I  purposely  made  the 
following  remark: 

"You  have  no  doubt  heard  of  spoken  lies,  and  also 
of  written  lies,  but  never  perhaps  of  painted  lies ;  but 
if  you  will  look  upon  the  picture  before  you,  you  will 
no  doubt  see  one." 

This  statement  was  reported  to  Dr.  Bagby  and  he 
immediately  wrote  me  a  scathing*  letter  which  made 
me  angry  and  more  than  ever  determined  to  study 
the  question  of  baptism  and  proclaim  the  errors  of  the 
Baptists  and  their  evil  doings  to  the  whole  world. 

Discussions  and  Discoveries. — ^To  say  a  thing  is 
easy,  to  do  it  is  quite  another,  especially  when  you 
appeal  to  the  Bible  on  a  question  where  you  discover 
that  you  are  wrong.  The  reason  why  so  many  do  not 
see  the  right  side  of  the  baptismal  question  is  no  doubt 
because  they  do  not  study  it  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  Bible.  I  had  no  other  book  to  examine.  Some- 
times T  did  wish  that  I  had  studied  the  question  in 
England  and  on  the  other  hand  T  was  glad  that  I  had 
not  done  so  as  this  gave  me  an  opportunity  to  study 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  65 

the  question  at  first  hand.  I  took  it  up  very  seriously. 
I  knew  that  the  Baptists  based  their  arguments  on  the 
Bible  and  the  Bible  was  the  best  book  to  decide  this 
question  and  so  to  the  Bible  I  appealed. 

It  was  not  long  until  I  discovered  that  the  word 
"baptism"  meant  immersion  in  the  Old  Testament,  as 
in  the  case  of  Naaman  who  was  told  to  dip  himself 
in  the  river  Jordan  (2  Kings  5:14).  I  found  the 
same  word  used  by  the  great  Hebrew-Greek  scholar, 
Dr.  David  C.  Ginsburg,  in  his  translation  of  the  Greek 
Testament  into  the  Hebrew  tongue.  I  also  remem- 
bered that  in  the  synagogue  where  my  father  often 
taught  and  preached  existed  a  baptistry  in  which  I 
myself  and  many  others  had  been  immersed  many  a 
time.     That  question  was  soon  settled. 

The  question  that  troubled  me  most  was  the  follow- 
ing :  Was  immersion  the  only  form  of  baptism  ?  If  it 
was  the  only  form  mentioned  in  the  Bible  and  prac- 
ticed by  the  Lord  and  His  disciples,  then  the  position 
of  the  Baptists  on  restricted  communion,  the  great 
bone  of  contention  against  the  Baptists,  was  perfectly 
justified.  This  question  of  various  forms  of  baptism 
troubled  me  for  a  while.  I  had  a  good  many  dis- 
cussions with  several  of  the  brother  missionaries, 
notably  with  the  Rev.  George  B.  Nind,  the  Methodist 
missionary  stationed  in  Pemambuco,  and  with  Dr.  Z. 
C.  Taylor,  the  Baptist  missionary  stationed  in  Bahia, 
who  while  visiting  the  Pernambuco  field,  I  invited 
to  my  rooms.  I  verily  believe  that  I  did  not  let  him 
have  much  rest,  asking  him  all  sorts  of  questions  until, 
to  obtain  some  relief,  he  hastened  his  return  to  Bahia. 


64         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

The  result  of  these  studies  soon  became  manifest. 
I  recognized  that  the  Baptists  were  right  in  their  con- 
tention and  that  I  was  wrong.  I  also  realized  that 
the  converts  I  had  sprinkled  in  my  ignorance  had  to 
be  taught  the  right  way.  As  supply  pastor  in  the 
Pernambuco  Evangelical  Church  I  felt  that  I  could 
not  conscientiously  continue.  Having  two  candidates 
to  sprinkle  my  conscience  refused  to  allow  me  to  prac- 
tice a  thing  which  I  began  to  consider  as  blasphemous. 
I  was  in  a  very  trying  position.  I  was  without  any 
society  to  look  after  my  support  and  without  other 
friends  but  those  that  sent  me  out  from  England. 
To  take  a  position  in  favour  of  the  Baptists  I  knew 
would  mean  to  sever  all  friendly  relations  with  my 
good  friends  in  England.  Just  at  that  time  friends 
were  organizing  an  interdenominational  missionary 
society  in  England  and  Pernambuco  was  to  be  the 
first  place  to  be  taken  under  the  wings  of  that  Society. 
But  I  considered  the  following:  If  for  the  sake  of 
Jesus  I  had  already  left  all  and  yet  nothing  had 
failed  me,  I  could  be  certain  that  by  following  the 
truth  as  it  was  taught  and  practiced  by  Jesus  His 
favor  would  continue  as  before.  Blessed  be  His  name, 
He  has  never  failed  me,  in  spite  of  great  and  bitter 
opposition. 

Just  in  passing  let  me  say  this :  A  great  many  have 
thought  that  I  became  a  Baptist  on  account  of  marry- 
ing Miss  Emma  Morton,  then  missionary  of  the 
Southern  Baptist  Convention.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
my  baptism  took  place  in  November,  1891,  and  I  mar- 
ried Miss  Emma  Morton  in  1893.    When  I  decided 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL         65 

the  baptism  question  I  was  engaged  to  be  married  to 
a  young  lady  I  had  left  in  London,  England,  who 
afterwards  became  my  first  wife. 

Decision  and  Baptism, — Having  decided  to  throw  in 
my  lot  with  the  Baptists  I  gave  notice  to  the  church 
in  Pemambuco  informing  the  brethren  as  to  the  rea- 
sons that  led  me  to  take  that  step.  I  had  several 
candidates  to  baptize  the  following  Sunday,  and  I 
asked  the  Rev.  W.  C.  Porter,  a  Presbyterian  mis- 
sionary, to  perform  the  ceremony  for  me.  I  told  the 
church  that  I  was  going  to  Bahia  to  be  baptized  and 
that  I  would  not  return  to  Pemambuco  until  the  pastor 
of  the  church  was  back  from  his  furlough.  I  would 
then  visit  every  candidate  I  had  sprinkled  and  teach 
him  the  right  way  of  being  baptized. 

When  I  arrived  in  Bahia  I  found  that  Dr.  Taylor 
was  expecting  me.  Though  I  had  not  informed  him 
of  my  decision  he  knew,  and  had  told  the  brethren 
that  they  should  expect  me.  He  had  been  praying 
about  me  and  knew  that  I  would  decide  aright.  In 
Bahia  I  also  met  the  newly  arrived  couple  of  mis- 
sionaries, Dr.  and  Mrs.  Entzminger. 

Soon  after  my  arrival  I  informed  the  missionaries 
of  my  conversion  to  the  Baptist  position  and  before 
the  church  made  my  public  confession  of  the  faith. 
I  was  baptized  by  dear  Dr.  Taylor  before  a  great 
crowd  of  interested  brethren  and  friends.  The  follow- 
ing Sunday  Drs.  Taylor  and  Entzminger  and  two 
native  pastors  formed  a  council  and  I  was  ordained 
into  the  regular  Baptist  ministry.  It  was  the  most 
memorable  day  of  my  life.     There  were  not  many 


66  A  WAJMDEKiNG  JEW  liN  BRAZIL 

present  and  the  congregation  was  not  the  most  select, 
but  the  presence  and  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God  was 
there.  With  a  heart  full  of  joy  I  consecrated  myself 
anew  to  the  task  of  saving  souls  for  my  Master  and 
Lord  in  the  great  neglected  contment. 

New  Persecutions,  Trials  and  Victory. — One  of  the 
first  results  of  my  decision  in  favor  of  the  Baptists 
was  the  enmity  of  those  who  were  helping  me  fnian- 
cially  and  especially  of  those  who  were  organizing  the 
new  interdenominational  missionary  society  for  Brazil. 
The  person,  however,  who  seemed  to  be  most  upset 
over  the  step  I  had  taken  was  the  good  sister  who 
paid  my  passage  and  outfit  to  Brazil.  But  since  I  had 
fulfilled  my  contract,  having  worked  as  a  self-support- 
ing missionary,  she  could  do  nothing  more  than 
criticise  my  step. 

I  was  engaged  to  a  sweet  English  young  lady,  a 
professional  nurse,  who  was  completing  her  training 
I  had  saved  sufficient  money  to  send  her  money  for 
her  passage  to  Brazil,  and  we  were  to  be  united  in 
marriage.  She  had  written  to  me  to  expect  her  on  a 
certain  boat,  and  you  can  imagine  my  excitement  when 
the  boat  fmally  appeared.  I  dressed  myself  in  the  best 
I  had  and  having  secured  an  excellent  row  boat,  went 
to  meet  the  large  steamer  to  welcome  my  beloved. 
Imagine  my  disappointment  when  I  did  not  find  her 
on  board.  In  my  mail  I  found  a  letter  telling  me 
that  she  had  heard  so  many  contradictory  things  about 
the  step  I  had  taken  and  the  denomination  I  had 
joined  that  she  had  hesitated  to  come  until  T  could 
e:xp1ain  it  all  satisfactorily  to  her. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  67 

My  answer  was  brief.  I  knew  more  or  less  from 
whence  the  trouble  had  come  and  I  wrote  teUing  her 
that  if  she  had  no  faith  in  me,  but  believed  in  what 
others  had  told  her  about  me  it  would  be  best  for  her 
not  to  come.  I  also  insisted  that  if  she  did  not  come 
by  the  next  vessel  I  would  take  it  as  an  answer  that 
our  engagement  had  been  dissolved. 

She  came,  and  in  due  time  we  were  married,  and  it 
was  not  long  after  that  I  had  the  privilege  of  baptiz- 
ing her  into  the  same  faith  and  doctrine.  Though  her 
life  in  Brazil  was  short,  very,  very  short,  as  she  only 
lived  five  months  after  reaching  Brazil,  dying  of  the 
dreadful  scourge  that  then  prevailed  in  Bahia,  yellow 
fever,  her  sweet  spirit,  gentle  disposition  and  wonder- 
ful missionary  enthusiasm  helped  me  marvelously  in 
the  beginning  of  my  ministry  in  Bahia  among  the 
Baptists. 

Baptizing  Those  I  Had  Spriiikled. — It  was  about 
Easter  of  1892  that  I  returned  to  Pernambuco  to  hold 
a  series  of  meetings  with  the  local  Baptist  church. 
The  pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  had  not  re- 
turned, but  another  man  was  in  charge.  I  was  then 
able  to  fulfill  my  promise  to  visit  all  those  that  I  had 
inadvertently  sprinkled,  thinking  that  it  was  what 
Christ  had  taught.  The  Lord  was  very  good  to  me  in 
that  he  permitted  me  to  baptize  nearly  all  those  that 
had  accepted  Christ  through  my  instrumentality. 
Only  one  I  did  not  baptize,  because  he  had  moved 
away  from  Pernambuco  and  I  have  not  been  able  to 
meet  him,  though  I  hope  to  do  so  yet.  This  brought 
me  the  epithet  of  "proselyter,"  though  I  do  not  think 


68         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

I  deserved  it.  I  have  always  respected  other  people's 
convictions  and  am  ready  to  condemn  those  that  per- 
secute others  for  not  agreeing  with  their  ideas.  But 
this  case  was  different. 

Here  were  about  twenty-five  people  that  I  had  led 
to  Christ,  but  had  misled  on  the  question  of  baptism. 
I  considered  it  my  incontestable  duty  to,  at  least,  ex- 
plain to  them  that  I  had  led  them  into  error  through 
ignorance.  The  fact  of  their  accepting  the  truth  and 
submitting  to  be  baptized  was  independent  of  the 
question  of  my  discharging  my  duty  in  explaining 
my  mistake. 

The  same  thing  was  repeated  in  NIctheroy.  Several 
families  that  I  had  been  instrumental  in  leading  to 
Christ,  as  soon  as  they  heard  that  I  had  joined  the 
Baptists,  began  to  study  the  question  of  baptism  in  a 
new  Hght  and  with  an  open  Bible.  Later  I  had  the 
privilege  of  visiting  that  city  and  it  was  my  great  joy 
to  present  a  good  many  of  them  to  Dr.  W.  B.  Bagby, 
who  taking  advantage  of  the  opportunity,  moved  to 
that  city  and  organized  the  first  Baptist  Church  of 
Nictheroy. 

The  experience  I  had  in  becoming  a  Baptist  always 
gives  me  an  opportunity  to  give  a  word  of  testimony 
concerning  why  I  became  a  Baptist  and  perhaps  for 
that  very  same  reason  a  good  many  have  left  the  Pedo- 
baptist  ranks  and  become  staimch  Baptists.  Still  that 
does  not  mean  that  I  am  a  "proselyter"  unless  giving 
your  testimony  to  the  truth  is  proselyting. 


CHAPTER  III. 
IN  BAHIA. 

Baptists  in  Bahia  in  1892.— Dr.  Z.  C.  Taylor  had, 
soon  after  my  baptism  and  ordination,  gone  to  the 
United  States  not  only  for  a  needed  rest  and  change 
of  climate  but  also  to  have  a  very  delicate  operation 
performed  on  his  wife,  one  of  the  most  cultured  and 
consecrated  lady  missionaries  I  ever  met.  She  v;^as 
suffering  from  a  mahgnant  sarcoma  on  one  of  her 
limbs  and  wsiS  unable  to  obtain  adequate  treatment  in 
Brazil. 

The  church  in  Bahia  v^as  then  in  a  very  precarious 
condition.  Dr.  Z.  C.  Taylor,  one  of  the  most  con- 
secrated and  self-sacrificing  missionaries  Brazil  ever 
had,  held  some  peculiar  views  about  marriage  and 
divorce.  He  believed  that  the  local  church  had  a 
right  to  grant  divorces  to  innocent  parties  and  once 
granted  the  divorce  he  believed  the  church  could 
legitimately  celebrate  a  new  marriage  ceremony.  The 
laws  of  the  country,  however,  were  against  divorce 
and  no  such  marriage  was  recognized  as  legal. 

Due  to  such  proceedings  the  church  had  gotten  into 
bad  repute,  and  when  Dr.  Taylor  left  for  the  States 
I  found  myself  confronting  a  grave  problem.  Young 
and  inexperienced  in  mission  or  even  church  work,  I 
realized  the  terrible  situation  in  which  the  church 
found  itself  and  after  much  prayer  determined  to 
drop  out  the  element  that  was  injuring  the  work. 


70         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

We  had  to  exclude  about  a  dozen  members.  To  the 
honor  of  the  BraziHan  believers  be  it  said  that  the 
best  element  of  the  church  stood  by  me  and  realized 
the  need  of  such  drastic  measures.  Most  of  the  mem- 
bers excluded  also  recognized  the  justice  of  the  step 
taken  and  returned  to  the  church  humbled  and 
changed. 

Dr.  Entzminger,  though  barely  escaping  death  by 
yellow  fever,  was  a  tower  of  strength  to  me  in  those 
days  and  I  was  very  sorry  when  he  decided  to  move 
to  the  Pernanibuco  field,  where  he  developed  a  wonder- 
ful work,  building  up  a  flourishing  enterprise  for 
Christ  and  the  Baptists.  He  and  his  wife  accomplished 
great  things  in  that  field,  one  of  the  most  difficult  in 
all  Brazil. 

Early  History  of  Work  in  Bahia. — The  early  history 
of  the  Baptist  work  in  Bahia  would  make  one  of  the 
most  interesting  chapters  of  modern  missionary  en- 
deavour. It  was  in  this  city  that  the  first  native 
Baptist  church  was  organized  in  the  year  1882.  It 
was  there  that  the  first  native  worker  was  won,  bap- 
tized and  afterwards  ordained  to  the  ministry,  and  (a 
curious  coincidence),  his  name  was  John  the  Baptist. 
It  was  there  also  that  the  first  attempts  at  a  Brazilian 
Baptist  Publishing  House  were  made  and  the  first 
Baptist  books  published  in  the  Portuguese  language. 
The  first  piece  of  property  bought  for  the  Baptist 
denomination  in  Brazil  was  purchased  in  this  city,  the 
old  Jesuit  prison  in  which  many  men  of  God  had 
suffered  for  conscience  sake.  This  place  was  trans- 
formed   into   a    great  center   of   spiritual   light   and 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  71 

liberty.  In  this  city  also  met  the  first  Brazilian  Bap- 
tist General  Convention  in  1907  in  which  plans  were 
laid  out  and  methods  of  work  adopted  that  are  telling 
upon  the  country  mightily  and  transforming  the  Bap- 
tists in  Brazil  into  a  great  spiritual  conquering  host. 
In  Bahia  the  first  Brazilian  Home  Mission  Board  had 
its  headquarters,  as  well  as  the  first  Brazilian  Foreign 
Mission  Board.  The  Brazilian  B.  Y.  P.  U.  work  was 
initiated  in  this  city  and  from  it  went  forth  the 
literature  that  organized  the  Baptist  young  people 
of  Brazil  into  a  great  force  for  Christ.  To  the  Bap- 
tists, therefore,  Bahia  is  a  great  historical  center  and 
to  describe  the  first  attempts  at  evangelization  is  im- 
possible here.  A  better  understanding  will  be  had 
when  there  appears  soon  an  autobiography  of  Dr.  Z.  C. 
Taylor,  the  first  missionary  who  gave  himself  to  the 
building  up  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  in  that  great 
metropolis  and  who  for  twenty-seven  years  labored 
and  toiled  in  that  field  almost  alone. 

I  can  only  mention  a  few  of  the  results  of  the 
marvelous  seed-sowing  done  by  Dr.  Taylor: 

1.  Fields  Visited  by  Dr.  Taylor.  The  work  was 
inaugurated  in  1882.  When  I  reached  Bahia  for  the 
first  time  it  was  in  November  of  1891.  In  that  decade 
Brother  Taylor  had  managed  to  visit  and  sow  the 
good  seed  in  almost  every  part  of  that  great  State  of 
Bahia.  Few  realize  what  this  means.  The  State  of 
Bahia  is  larger  than  the  State  of  Texas  with  the  addi- 
tional inconvenience  of  not  having  good  transportation 
facilities.  In  spite  of  bad  roads,  lack  of  railways, 
rivers  full  of  malaria  and  swamps  full  of  deadly  dis- 


n         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

eases,  Brother  Taylor,  in  the  short  space  of  ten  years, 
managed  to  spread  the  good  tidings  of  great  joy  all 
over  that  great  State. 

Not  content  with  the  work  in  Bahia  he  extended  his 
usefulness  into  the  neighboring  State  of  Alagoas.  The 
ex-Priest  Teixeira,  a  charter  member  of  the  first 
church  in  Brazil,  was  a  native  of  this  State.  Dr. 
Taylor  sent  him  on  a  visit  to  that  field  and  soon 
followed  him  with  the  message  of  life  and  light. 

2.  Churches  Organized.  In  1891  I  found  the  fol- 
lowing churches  organized  and  in  fairly  good  work- 
ing conditions : 

(a)  The  First  Baptist  Church  that  was  worshipping 
in  the  old  Jesuit  prison  building  transformed  into  an 
excellent  spiritual  center.  The  membership  was  not 
very  large  but  notwithstanding  the  difficulties  men- 
tioned above,  full  of  zeal  and  anxious  to  spread  the 
good  news  of  salvation. 

(b)  Another  church  existed  in  the  city  of  Valenca, 
a  small  but  very  industrious  little  place  situated  about 
fifty  miles  down  the  coast.  The  membership  was  not 
large  but  composed  of  some  of  the  better  class  of 
people.  They  also  were  spreading  the  good  tidings 
all  around. 

(c)  Another  church  existed  in  the  city  of  Maceio, 
capital  of  the  State  of  Alagoas.  The  membership  was 
very  small  and  the  persecutions  the  believers  suffered 
were  severe,  but  this  no  doubt  caused  every  member 
to  become  a  strong  and  stalwart  soldier  for  Christ. 
The  church,  that  still  continues  faithful  is  a  strong 
spiritual  center  for  God. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL         73 

3.  Literature  Published.  Dr.  Taylor  believed  in  the 
printed  page  and  consequently  used  it  to  great  ad- 
vantage in  laying  the  foundations  for  the  future.  It 
is  impossible  to  give  the  whole  list  of  books  and  tracts 
he  published,  but  I  will  mention  a  few,  especially  those 
that  had,  and  still  have,  a  mighty  influence  upon  the 
work  in  Brazil. 

(a)  One  of  the  first  books  he  published  was  a 
translation  of  Dr.  S.  H.  Ford's  "Origin  and  History 
of  the  Baptists."  In  the  same  book  he  included  a 
translation  of  the  Philadelphia  Confession  of  Faith  as 
well  as  a  few  Rules  of  Order  as  to  Church  Govern- 
ment. Next  to  the  Bible  this  book  has  been  a  main 
stay  in  almost  all  of  the  Brazilian  churches.  The 
translation  is  not  one  of  the  best  and  the  historical 
arguments  may  not  be  up-to-date,  but  the  book  has 
been  a  means  of  building  up  the  young  churches  in 
the  Faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,  and  has  de- 
veloped a  Baptist  brotherhood  proud  of  its  history  and 
jealous  for  its  privileges  and  opportunities. 

(b)  Amongst  the  other  books  that  have  helped  to 
form  the  Baptist  character  in  Brazil  might  be  men- 
tioned: Dr.  Harvey's  "The  Church  and  State," 
Tertulians  "Apologetics,"  Broadus'  "Harmony  of 
the  Gospels,"  etc.,  etc.,  all  translated  and  published 
by  Brother  Taylor  in  his  small  printing  plant. 

(c)  The  greatest  amount  of  literary  work  was 
done,  however,  in  the  publication  of  leaflets  and  small 
tracts  which  Brother  Taylor  used  to  an  almost  un- 
limited extent.  He  had  the  knack  of  issuing  leaflets 
and  tracts  that  would  tell  upon  the  people  and  bring 


74         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

forth  results.  One  of  these  was  entitled  "Three 
Reasons  Why  I  Left  the  Church  of  Rome,"  written 
by  the  ex-Priest  Teixeira.  That  tract  has  had  a  most 
creditable  history,  having  been  instrumental  in  the 
opening  of  blind  eyes  to  many  a  sincere  Catholic. 

Another  tract  that  caused  a  great  commotion 
amongst  the  Catholic  clergy  was  one  entitled  "A 
Photograph  of  the  Virgin  Mary  in  Heaven."  Brother 
Taylor  published  that  tract  first  in  the  daily  press  and 
then  issued  it  in  leaflet  form  and  spread  it  all  over 
the  country.  It  accomplished  wonders  and  is  still 
doing  the  work  for  which  it  was  prepared. 

Two  small  tracts  that  have  helped  to  organize  a 
good  many  churches  in  Brazil  have  the  titles:  "How 
to  Pray"  and  "The  New  Birth."  Both  of  these  sub- 
jects are  entirely  unknown  to  the  Catholics. 

And  so  I  could  go  on  mentioning  the  good  things 
I  found  when  I  made  my  appearance  among  the 
Baptists  in  1891.  What  it  was  when  I  returned  to 
that  field  in  1909  can  more  easily  be  imagined  than 
described.  The  number  of  churches  had  grown  to 
that  of  about  thirty-five  with  hundreds  of  preaching 
places.  In  the  capital  of  the  State  instead  of  one 
little  church  there  were  four,  all  prospering  and  on 
the  good  road  to  self-support.  Best  of  all,  I  found 
established  and  in  good  working  order  an  educational 
institution  that  was  exercising  a  powerful  influence 
upon  the  field  and  the  workers.  The  good  Lord  was 
abundantly  blessing  the  faithful  and  self-sacrificing 
work  done  by  his  servant  who,  in  that  very  year,  had 
to  leave  the  field,  on  account  of  his  health,  and  to 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL         75 

which  he  never  returned,  being-  swept  into  glory  on 
the  occasion  of  the  great  Corpus  Christi,  Texas, 
catastrophe  in  1919. 

A  Public  Debate. — I  had  not  returned  to  Rio  de 
Janeiro  since  becoming  a  Baptist,  so  taking  advantage 
of  a  meeting  of  the  missionaries  at  the  home  of 
Dr.  W.  B.  Bagby,  I  went,  not  only  because  of  my 
desire  to  know  all  the  Baptist  missionaries,  but  also 
to  meet  some  of  my  old  friends  and  converts  in  the 
Congregational  church,  and  tell  them  of  the  change 
that  had  taken  place  in  my  doctrinal  beliefs. 

Several  families  in  Nictheroy  had  become  greatly 
interested  in  the  teaching  of  the  Baptists  and  through 
these  a  public  discussion  had  been  arranged  between 
the  pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  and  myself. 
I  consented  to  the  discussion  being  held  in  the  Con- 
gregational church  under  certain  conditions  to  which 
both  parties  subscribed,  but  to  which  I  alone  was 
obliged  to  adhere.  At  the  last  moment  the  Brazilian 
pastor  thought  it  best  to  change  the  program  calling 
to  his  help  other  speakers  hoping,  I  suppose,  that  I 
would  desist  and  thus  give  them  an  easy  victory. 
I  stuck  to  the  opportunity  and  when  the  time  for 
the  discussion  arrived  I  enjoyed  it  immensely.  Mr. 
Tucker,  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  presided  over 
the  session  and  instead  of  my  discussing  with  the 
native  pastor  alone  I  had  to  answer  about  a  half  dozen 
of  them.  The  outcome  of  it  all  was  that  each  party 
claimed  victory,  but  the  families  that  had  arranged 
for  the  discussion  soon  after  joined  the  Baptist  church 


76         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

and  became  very  zealous  workers  in  the  kingdom, 
some  of  them  continuing  faithful  up  until  today. 

First  Visit  to  Victoria. — While  in  Nictheroy,  the 
Baptist  missionaries  thought  it  opportune  to  begin 
work  in  the  neighboring  State  of  Espirito  Santo,  and 
I  was  asked  to  visit  that  field.  Taking  a  small  coast- 
ing vessel  I  sailed  for  Victoria,  the  capital  of  that 
State,  asking  the  Lord  to  guide  and  direct  me.  On 
board  the  vessel  I  became  acquainted  with  the  Chief 
of  Police  of  that  place  who  was  a  Brazilian  of  German 
descent  and  who  spoke  German  fluently.  Before  leav- 
ing the  boat  he  urged  me  to  be  very  careful  about  the 
work  I  was  going  to  do  as  the  fanatical  element  in  that 
city  was  very  bitter  against  the  Protestants.  How- 
ever, if  I  should  be  in  need  he  promised  to  stand 
by  me. 

It  was  a  beautiful  Sunday  morning  when  I  landed 
in  that  enchanting  city  of  about  10,000  inhabitants  and 
it  happened  to  be  Carnival  Sunday,  a  day  given  over 
to  sin,  vice  and  crime.  I  was  wondering  whether  it 
would  be  wise  to  do  anything  in  such  a  time,  but, 
asking  the  Lord  about  it,  I  thought  that  it  would  be 
well  to  take  advantage  of  the  Carnival  season  and 
distribute  the  tracts  I  had  brought  to  the  multitudes 
that  were  crov/ding  the  streets. 

The  people  must  have  taken  my  work  as  a  carnival 
joke,  for  I  had  not  gone  far  with  my  tract  distribu- 
tion when  a  crowd  began  to  follow  me  asking  for 
more.  I  distributed  all  I  had  and  when  I  saw  the 
multitude  begging  for  something  else  my  heart  began 
to  yearn  to  tell  them  the  story  of  salvation.  Climbing 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL         77 

upon  a  rock  that  was  lying  at  the  corner  of  one  of 
the  public  squares  I  began  to  tell  them  of  Jesus  and 
His  power  to  save.  I  was  having  the  best  time  of 
my  Ufe.  I  suppose  more  than  two  thousand  people 
stood  around  me  listening  attentively  to  the  message 
of  love  and  salvation. 

Soon,  however,  I  noticed  a  change  coming  over  the 
multitude.  Some  one  was  poisoning  their  minds.  I 
began  to  notice  hatred  and  anger  and  then  protests. 
I  continued  to  preach,  however,  without  paying  much 
attention  to  those  things.  Then  someone  threw  mud 
at  me  which  struck  me  right  on  my  cheek.  This  act 
provoked  laughter  in  the  crowd  and  pandemonium 
broke  loose.  It  was  fortunate  that  the  chief  of  police 
was  present  and  managed  to  get  close  to  me.  Taking 
my  arm  he  led  me,  covered  by  a  protecting  guard,  to 
my  hotel,  where  I  was  kept  closely  guarded  during 
the  night. 

The  next  day  I  visited  many  of  the  citizens  of  the 
place  and  sold  a  good  many  Bibles  and  books.  The 
better  class  of  people  deplored  the  scene  that  had 
taken  place  the  day  before  and  promised  to  help  when 
the  work  was  to  be  started.  I  returned  to  Nictheroy 
and  reported  favorably  about  the  opening  of  a  mission 
station  if  competent  help  could  be  found.  I  was  sure 
that  the  work  would  prosper  and  it  certainly  did  when 
a  few  years  afterwards  the  Lord  led  Brother  Reno  to 
give  his  life  to  that  field  and  work.  It  is  now  the 
general  observation  of  the  missionaries  that  in  every- 
place where  the  Cause  of  the  Master  is  persecuted,  the 
work  prospers.    Also,  in  every  place  where  the  Cause 


78         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

is  received  by  the  people  with  indifference  the  work 
seems  to  lag  and,  in  spite  of  every  effort,  does  not 
seem  to  go  forward. 

The  Power  of  God's  Word. — Returning  to  Bahia  I 
received  one  day  the  visit  of  two  gentlemen,  one  a 
retired  officer  of  the  army  and  the  other  a  lawyer. 
They  had  come  from  the  city  of  Amargosa,  a  small 
interior  town  of  about  five  thousand  inhabitants. 
They  brought  two  little  tracts  with  them  on  which 
was  printed  the  address  of  the  mission.  One  was 
entitled:  "Como  Orar!"  (How  to  Pray),  and  the 
other:  "O  Novo  Nascimento !"  (The  New  Birth), 
These  tracts  had  done  a  great  work  in  the  heart  of 
these  two  men.  They  had  come  as  a  delegation  from 
the  town  to  ask  the  missionary  to  visit  that  city  and 
explain  in  the  town  theater  the  meaning  of  such  teach- 
ings. They  informed  me  that  not  long  before  the  peo- 
ple had  expelled  the  local  priest  on  account  of  his 
immoral  life  and  that  the  best  elements  in  the  town 
were  anxious  to  learn  about  the  teachings  of  the 
Protestants.  Of  course  I  accepted  the  invitation,  and 
on  the  day  set  was  on  my  way  to  the  place,  never 
dreaming  of  the  great  things  the  Lord  was  calling 
me  to. 

To  reach  the  place  I  had  to  cross  the  bay,  sleep  in 
a  city  on  the  other  side  of  the  bay  and  take  a  train 
the  next  day  for  that  place.  I  filled  my  satchel  with 
Bibles  and  books  and  utilized  my  time  both  on  board 
the  small  vessel  as  well  as  in  the  hotel  and  trains 
selling  books  and  talking  to  a  great  many  about 
Jesus  and  His  power  to  save. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  79 

In  the  train  I  noticed  a  nice  young  man  sitting  in  a 
second-class  carriage  and  I  felt  the  Spirit  of  God  move 
me  to  sell  him  a  Bible.  I  had  sold  about  all  my  books, 
but  had  kept  one  good  looking  copy  of  a  Bible  for  a 
present  to  one  of  the  higher  officials  of  the  town. 
But  I  felt  impelled  to  go  and  get  that  young  fellow 
to  buy  that  book.  I  went  up  to  him  and  sitting  down 
by  his  side  I  asked  him  to  buy  that  Bible.  I  told  him 
plainly  what  kind  of  a  book  it  was  and  how  the  priests 
hated  and  abused  the  Bible.  I  opened  up  several 
pages  and  read  different  passages  to  him.  He  at  first 
seemed  to  hesitate,  but  at  last  bought  the  book.  I  then 
asked  him  to  come  to  the  meeting  that  I  was  going  to 
hold  in  the  theater  in  the  city  to  which  both  of  us 
were  traveling  and  he  promised  to  come  and  we  both 
went  to  the  same  hotel. 

The  meeting  was  a  great  success.  It  began  about 
seven  in  the  evening  and  we  got  through  with  it 
about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning.  After  explaining 
the  two  tracts,  the  position  of  the  Baptist  churches 
and  their  beliefs  on  several  topics,  the  lawyer  who 
had  come  to  see  me  presented  a  series  of  questions  to 
be  answered  right  before  the  crowd.  It  was  very  in- 
teresting and  instructive,  though  it  does  tax  the 
knowledge  of  a  fellow  greatly.  I  was  glad  that  in 
the  Seminary  I  had  gained  a  medal  on  the  study  of 
Popery,  as  Dr.  Grattan-Guinness,  the  director  of  our 
college,  whv^  was  a  great  authority  on  the  Romish 
question,  had  drilled  me  so  well  on  such  discussions. 

Of  course  I  did  not  talk  all  that  night.  We  also 
had  singing  of  hymns  and  with  my  little  Bilhorn  I 


80         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

managed  to  teach  the  crowd  some  of  our  beautiful 
Gospel  songs.  One  little  verse  captured  the  crowd. 
It  was  sung  with  a  Salvation  Army  tune  and  ran  as 
follows  in  Portuguese: 

O  sangue  de  Jesus  me  lavou,  me  lavou; 
**0  sangue  de  Jesus  me  lavou,  me  lavou, 
Alegre  cantarei,  louvores  ao  meu  Rei, 
Ao  meu  Senhor  Jesus,  que  me  salvou!" 

Translation: 
"Oh,  the  blood  of  Jesus  cleansed  me, 
Oh,  the  blood  of  Jesus  cleansed  me. 
Happily  will  I  sing  praises  to  my  King, 
To  my  Lord  Jesus,  who  saved  me  I" 

As  I  left  the  theater  for  a  little  sleep,  the  young 
man  who  bought  the  Bible  came  along  and  asked 
me  to  teach  him  that  song  and  those  words  as  he 
was  very  anxious  to  take  that  song  to  his  people. 
We  sat  up  the  rest  of  the  night  singing  and  talking 
and  then  I  saw  him  off  to  the  station,  asking  the  Lord 
to  use  him  as  a  messenger  of  God  to  some  needy  soul, 
little  thinking  how  wonderfully  the  Lord  would  an- 
swer that  prayer,  for  though  this  young  man  was 
never  converted,  in  spite  of  having  made  a  public  con- 
fession of  faith,  the  Lord  used  him  to  take  the  mes- 
sage to  many  that  were  hungering  for  the  light  of  life. 

It  was  a  few  years  afterwards  that  Dr.  Taylor  told 
me  of  the  effect  of  that  Bible.  The  work  in  Amargosa 
was  moving  along  nicely.  A  church  had  been  or- 
ganized as  a  direct  result  of  that  visit,  but  what  in- 
terested me  most  was  what  that  Bible  accomplished. 
This  is  what  had  happened.     The  young  fellow  on 


PLATE    V. 

1.  Delegates   Sunday    School   Institute,   Rio,    June,    1919. 

2.  North   and   South   Brazil   Missionaries    in    Meeting,   Rio. 

3.  SUte   Convention,    Victoria,   January,   1920. 

4.  Delegates  to  National  Brazilian  Baptist  Convention,  Pernambuco,  1120. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  81 

reaching  home  and  thinking  about  the  danger  of 
having  a  book  prohibited  by  the  priest  in  his  posses- 
sion, went  to  a  brother  of  his  who  was  the  baker  of 
the  town  and  a  very  devout  Catholic.  He  took  the 
Bible  to  him  and  told  him : 

"Marcellino,  an  American,  a  foreigner,  made  me 
buy  this  book.  He  told  me  that  the  priests  prohibited 
the  reading  of  such  books  and  I  want  you  to  throw 
it  into  the  fire." 

The  baker  looked  at  the  book  and  asked  him  all 
about  it.  The  man  told  him  of  the  meeting  in  the 
theater  and  the  singing  of  hymns  and,  as  an  illustra- 
tion, sang  that  Salvation  Army  song  about  the  "Blood 
of  Jesus  cleansing  from  all  sin."  It  was  like  a  live 
coal  from  the  altar  of  God.  The  baker  was  hunger- 
ing and  thirsting  for  salvation  and  that  message  of 
song  stirred  his  heart  and  soul  as  nothing  else  had 
done. 

There  was  living  in  thfe  village  an  old  believer  who 
had  told  the  baker  about  Jesus  and  His  power  to  save 
and  had  been  praying  for  his  salvation.  The  Bible 
sent  to  him  through  the  instrumentality  of  his  un- 
believing brother  brought  him  to  the  saving  knowl- 
edge of  Christ.  He  asked  the  brother  to  let  him  look 
through  the  Bible  before  throwing  it  into  the  fire. 
He  opened  it  and  finding  several  of  the  pages  turned 
down  began  reading  therein. 

The  first  passage  he  read  was  Exodus  XX.,  the 
Ten  Commandments.  He  read  the  chapter  through 
once,  twice  and  several  times  more  until,  stirred  by 
the  Spirit  of  God,  he  called  for  his  wife  and  asked 


82         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

her  to  listen  to  the  words  of  God.  He  read  the  passage 
to  her,  laying  stress  on  the  second  commandment, 
where  it  is  plainly  prohibited  to  have  idols  to  worship. 
He  called  her  attention  to  it  and  also  to  many  idols 
that  adorned  the  walls  of  their  home.  He  had  a  great 
many  of  them  and  with  tears  in  his  eyes  he  said: 

**Wife,  what  shall  we  do  about  it?" 

**Why,*'  she  said,  *'the  only  thing  to  do  is  to  burn 
them."  He  did  not  wait  for  further  instructions,  but 
gathering  up  the  whole  outfit  he  threw  them  all  into 
the  oven.  That  was  a  glorious  beginning.  The  baker 
became  a  burning  torch  for  God.  He  gave  his  all,  his 
life,  his  time  and  his  means  to  the  work  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God. 

He  had  a  brother  who  was  a  rich  land  and  cattle 
owner  as  well  as  a  leading  politician  in  a  neighboring 
county.  This  brother  came  to  see  him  and  to  argue 
with  him  about  his  change  of  religion.  Unable  to  con- 
vince him  he  brought  a  priest  along  to  drive  the  devil 
out  of  him,  but  both  returned  unable  to  destroy  the 
work  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 

It  was  not  long  after  that  until  this  brother  also 
saw  the  light  and  became  a  veritable  Evangel  for 
Christ  in  that  vast  interior  of  Brazil.  As  a  result  of 
that  Bible  there  are  today  dozens  of  churches  and 
preaching  places  proving  once  more  the  reality  of  that 
glorious  promise  of  God :  "My  Word  shall  not  return 
unto  me  void." 

A  Narrow  Escape. — Dr.  Taylor  had  returned  from 
the  States  and  we  had  decided  to  divide  the  work. 
He  was  to  stay  in  town  and  build  up  the  local  church 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BR.\ZIL  83 

and  I  was  to  take  up  the  interior  work.  Soon  I  left 
in  the  city  of  Bahia,  my  young  wife,  and  started  on  a 
trip  of  about  1,000  miles  inland  to  a  city  called 
Jacobina,  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  State,  a  great  gold 
mining  center,  and  where  we  had  several  persons  in- 
terested in  the  Gospel. 

The  train  took  me  as  far  as  Queimadas,  the  terminal 
of  the  railroad.  I  reached  the  place  on  a  Saturday,  the 
great  market  day,  and  found  the  town  crowded  with 
thousands  of  people  that  had  come  from  all  over  that 
region  to  sell  their  goods.  It  was  considered  one  of 
the  greatest  market  centers  of  the  State.  Gambling 
and  drinking  as  well  as  every  other  crime  was  the 
order  of  the  day.  I  had  with  me  an  old  colporter,  a 
well-known  and  highly-respected  character  of  that 
region,  who  was  a  great  help  to  me,  especially 
through  his  knowledge  of  the  road,  and  of  the  medi- 
cinal value  of  herbs  and  plants. 

I  set  up  my  little  organ  in  the  most  public  place 
of  the  market  and  began  playing  some  of  our  hymns. 
If  there  is  one  thing  a  Brazilian  appreciates  it  cer- 
tainly is  music,  and  it  did  not  take  much  time  to  col- 
lect an  enormous  crowd. 

Having  their  attention  I  began  singing  a  hymn  and 
the  crowd  continued  to  grow  and  to  listen.  They  had 
never  seen  nor  heard  such  a  thing.  Then  some  one 
thought  that  I  was  singing  for  money  and  the  crowd 
began  to  place  nickels  and  dimes  on  the  little  organ. 
This  gave  me  my  text.  Standing  upon  a  stool 
I  began  to  explain  to  them  my  object  and  mission, 
telling   them    that    I   had    not    come    for    their   gifts. 


84         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

but  to  tell  them  of  the  great  gift  of  God — of  a  Saviour 
whose  gifts  were  free  and  whose  blessings  were  to  be 
had  for  the  asking.  Oh,  the  joy  of  preaching  the 
Gospel  to  hungry  multitudes !  My  heart  was  over- 
flowing with  joy  at  the  opportunity  to  tell  those  thou- 
sands of  souls  that  had  never  heard  of  the  love  of  a 
loving  God,  and  of  a  Saviour  mighty  to  save.  And 
how  they  listened!  With  ears  and  eyes  and  mouths 
wide  open  they  seemed  to  drink  in  every  word  of  my 
message. 

Just  as  I  was  reaching  the  climax  of  my  speech  the 
good  colporter  called  my  attention  to  a  commotion 
that  was  taking  place  on  the  outskirts  of  the  immense 
crowd,  informing  me,  in  frightened  tones,  that  the  re- 
latives of  the  local  priest  were  stirring  up  the  fanatics 
against  me  telling  them  that  I  was  the  long  expected 
anti-christ.  It  so  happened  that  the  priest  who  had 
charge  of  that  town  had  a  great  number  of  children. 
Though  not  supposed  to  have  children,  almost  all  the 
priests,  especially  in  the  interior,  live  in  sin,  having 
one  or  more  women,  and  consequently  a  good  many 
descendents.  As  the  income  of  a  priest  in  a  place 
like  the  one  mentioned  is  large,  he  finds  no  difficulty 
in  marrying  off  his  illegitimate  children,  as  the  mar- 
riage is  always  accompanied  by  a  good  dowry.  This, 
of  course,  enhances  his  hold  upon  the  people.  These 
descendents  watch  carefully  over  the  interests  that 
affect  the  income  of  the  priest  and  will  naturally  op- 
pose any  movement  that  might  injure  his  business 
which  is  also  theirs. 

These  innumerable  descendents  of  the  priest  were 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL         85 

stirring  up  the  fanatical  elements  in  that  great  vast 
throng  and  it  did  not  take  me  long  to  see  the  danger 
I  was  in.  I  kept  on  preaching  fearing  that  as  soon  as 
I  stopped  they  would  fall  on  me  and  destroy  not  only 
my  organ  and  books  but  also  myself  and  the  good 
colporter.  While  I  preached  I  also  prayed  and  asked 
the  Lord  to  come  to  my  rescue.  I  was  alone  in  the 
place.  I  did  not  know  anyone  and  had  not  even  visited 
the  Chief  of  Police  to  tell  him  of  my  work  and  stop 
over  in  town.  My  intention  had  been  to  pass  through 
the  place  and  go  on  the  next  day  to  Jacobina.  How  to 
escape  this  great  crowd,  growing  every  minute  more 
threatening  and  dangerous,  I  really  could  not  imagine. 
Several  were  taking  out  their  daggers  and  passing 
the  edge  over  the  palm  of  their  hands,  and  were 
pointing  them  at  me  as  if  to  say,  this  will  do  you  all 
right.  Oh,  how  I  prayed,  asking  the  Lord  to  show 
me  a  way  out,  not  so  much  for  my  own  sake  as  for 
the  sake  of  the  man  who  had  so  willingly  left  his 
wife  and  children  and  come  with  me  to  help  me  in 
my  work.  He  looked  up  to  me  several  times  with 
eyes  full  of  tears  as  if  to  say,  "we  are  lost." 

In  a  flash  a  thought  came  to  me  to  make  the  Ma- 
sonic sign  of  distress.  Could  it  be  possible  that  in 
that  out-of-the-way  place  I  would  meet  with  a  brother 
Mason?  I  tried  it  and  it  seemed  to  me  as  if  someone 
was  just  waiting  for  that  sign,  for  in  less  than  five 
minutes  about  a  half  a  dozen  men  came  to  me  and  sur- 
rounded the  stool  upon  which  I  was  standing  and  told 
me  that  they  had  come  to  take  me  to  their  homes. 
It  certainly  was  a  great  surprise !   Soon  I  was  safely 


86         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

installed  in  one  of  the  best  parlors  of  the  town,  pro- 
tected by  soldiers  with  loaded  guns.  I  thanked  my 
Heavenly  Father  for  dehvering  me  so  wonderfully 
from  that  infuriated  crowd. 

Near  Death's  Door. — The  next  day  I  continued  my 
trip,  this  time  on  horseback.  It  being  my  first  trip 
into  the  interior  I  was  not  very  careful  about  the  food 
I  ate  nor  the  kind  of  water  I  drank.  Consequently 
the  third  day  out  I  began  to  suffer  with  a  very  high 
fever.  The  colporter  was  distressed.  To  take  me 
back  to  the  place  I  had  left  he  was  afraid,  as  he  did 
not  have  much  confidence  in  the  medical  help  which 
I  would  get.  So  after  preparing  a  concoction  of  tea 
with  the  bark  of  the  quinine  tree  which  he  gave  me 
to  drink  he  tied  me  on  my  horse  and  after  two  days 
of  hot  and  burning  sun  and  violent  fever  he  brought 
me  into  Jacobina,  and  turned  me  over  to  a  Jewish 
merchant  who  happened  to  be  the  local  physician. 

What  happened  to  me  after  that  was  told  by  this 
Jew.  For  two  days  I  had  high  fever  and  was  very 
delirious.  The  colporter  had  found  in  one  of  my 
pockets  a  letter  I  had  received  from  the  lodge  of 
which  I  was  a  member  recommending  me  to  this 
Jewish  brother.  Of  course  my  name  was  Jewish 
enough,  but  he  could  not  make  out  my  business,  and 
when  the  colporter  told  him  that  I  was  a  Baptist 
preacher  he  of  course  knew  that  I  was  according  to 
his  ideas,  a  Jewish  Apostate.  Just  a  few  weeks  before 
my  arrival  he  had  driven  out  of  his  home  his  only 
daughter  because  she  was  resolved  to  marry  a  Gentile, 
and  one  can  imagine  his  feelings  when  right  to  his 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  87 

door  was  brought,  in  a  most  helpless  condition,  a 
/ewish  renegade.  His  desire  was  to  let  me  die,  as  I, 
in  his  opinion,  surely  deserved.  But  there  was  that 
letter  from  the  lodge  calling  him  to  the  fulfilment  ot 
his  duty  as  a  member  to  a  needy  brother  and  forget- 
ting his  own  personal  resentment,  he  began  to  treat 
me  as  a  father  would  his  own  child.  Someone  must 
have  been  interceding  for  me,  for  I  was  not  only 
saved  from  death,  but  before  leaving  I  was  able  to 
reconcile  that  father  to  his  daughter  and  leave  them 
with  their  ideas  completely  changed  about  Christ. 

Death  of  Mrs.  Carrie  Bishop  Ginsburg. — When  I 
reached  home  from  this  interior  trip  I  found  my  wife 
sick  with  yellow  fever.  The  salary  I  was  receiving 
was  so  meager,  that  to  be  able  to  live,  I  had  to  move 
into  the  Mission  property,  the  old  Jesuit  prison.  It 
was  no  doubt  there  that  Mrs.  Ginsburg  had  contracted 
the  dreadful  disease.  The  day  I  discovered  that  she 
was  sick  with  fever  I  searched  the  town  for  a  physi- 
cian and  though  Bahia  boasts  of  a  medical  faculty,  on 
that  day  not  one  decent  or  capable  physician  could 
be  found.  It  was  Memorial  Day  or  All  Saints*  Day 
and  everybody  seemed  to  be  away  from  home.  The 
only  English  physician  in  town  was  sick  in  bed. 
Finally  I  managed  to  get  one  who,  misunderstanding 
the  malady  applied  leeches,  which  I  have  no  doubt 
hastened  her  death. 

That  was  a  sad  day  for  me  when  she  breathed  her 
last.  For  ten  long  days  I  watched  by  her  bedside, 
doing  all  that  was  in  my  power  to  save  her  precious 
life.    We  had  known  each  other  for  more  than  three 


88         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

years  and  had  been  married  only  about  four  months. 
A  portion  of  those  few  months  I  was  away  in  the 
interior.  We  had  planned  to  do  a  great  work  and 
were  on  the  way  to  accomplish  something  for  our 
Master  in  Brazil  and,  lo,  here  she  was  being  taken 
away  from  me  before  we  really  had  begun  to  live. 
When  her  last  moments  came  and  she  realized  that  she 
was  dying  she  called  me  to  her  side  and  whispered  in 
my  ear:  "Do  not  weep  for  me,  I  am  happy,  for  I  am 
going  home."  While  the  believers  who  had  learned 
to  love  her  sweet  and  sunny  smile  and  great  help  she 
gave  them  as  a  trained  nurse,  stood  around  weeping, 
she  breathed  her  last,  the  same  sweet  smile  hovering 
over  her  face. 

No  one  was  allowed  to  follow  her  last  remains  on 
account  of  the  yellow  fever  and  my  heart  felt  sad  and 
lonely  when  I  saw  her  lowered  into  the  grave  in  the 
English  cemetery  to  await  the  great  and  glorious  re- 
surrection morn. 

Thus  ended  a  short  but  sweet  life,  consecrated  and 
used  by  the  Master.  Little  did  she  do  herself,  though 
she  was  preparing  herself  for  a  great  work;  but  she 
did  one  thing  and  that  was  to  guide  my  steps  into  the 
mission  field.  It  was  under  God,  due  to  her,  that  I 
was  led  to  think  of  the  Foreign  Mission  field  as  my 
sphere  of  labor.  Had  it  not  been  for  her,  and  her  en- 
thusiasm for  the  work  in  foreign  fields  I  very  likely 
would  have  never  thought  of  it  and  would  have  no 
doubt  continued  setting  up  type  until  the  present  time. 

I  will  never  forget  the  first  time  we  met  on  the  sea- 
shore off  the  south  of  England  where  I  was  passing 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  89 

my  holidays.  She  was  taking  an  active  part  in  the 
meetings  for  children.  We  talked  together  for  hours 
about  the  Master's  work  and,  oh,  how  she  opened  my 
eyes  to  the  possibilities  of  one's  life  in  the  foreign 
field  where  millions  were  dying  without  the  knowledge 
of  God  and  the  blessed  Saviour.  It  was  she  who  in- 
troduced me  to  the  China  Inland  Mission  and  it  was 
also  she  who  helped  me  to  get  through  the  Regions 
Beyond  Mission  College.  She  had  accomplished  her 
purpose  and  the  Lord  took  her  to  her  reward. 

The  Lord  gave,  the  Lord  took  her  away.    Blessed 
be  the  Name  of  the  Lord ! 


CHAPTER  IV. 
IN  CAMPOS  (1893-1900). 

Return  to  Nictheroy. — After  the  death  of  my  first 
wife  in   1892,  I  thought  it  best  to  leave  Bahia. 

Dr.  W.  B.  Bagby  happened  to  pass  by  the  city  of 
Bahia  about  that  time  on  his  way  to  New  York.  He 
had  left  Dr.  J.  J.  Taylor,  one  of  the  new  missionaries 
lately  arrived  in  Brazil,  to  look  after  the  mission  af- 
fairs as  well  as  care  for  the  work  in  the  great  city  of 
Rio  de  Janeiro.  Dr.  Bagby  asked  me  to  move  to 
Rio  and  help  in  the  work  in  that  great  metropolis  of 
Brazil.  I  gladly  accepted  the  call  seeing  in  this  a 
call  from  God.  I  moved  to  Rio  and  across  the  bay 
to  Nictheroy.  There  I  took  charge  of  the  local 
church  in  the  same  community  in  which  I  first  began 
to  work  for  my  Master  in  Brazil  and  where  the  Lord 
had  been  so  good  to  me. 

Nictheroy  is  the  capital  of  the  State  of  Rio  de 
Janeiro.  Rio  de  Janeiro  proper  is  the  name  given 
to  the  Federal  District.  Nictheroy  lies  just  across  the 
bay  from  the  Federal  District  and  has  a  government 
of  its  own.  It  is  a  city  of  about  50,000  inhabitants. 
Though  many  of  its  inhabitants  work  in  Rio,  just 
across  the  bay,  it  has  a  life  of  its  own  and  industries 
that  flourish.  It  is  a  great  evangelistic  center  and  a 
very  important  field  to  be  occupied  for  Christ. 

Moving  to  this  field  was  a  real  delight,  as  it  brought 
me  back  to  my  former  friends    and    brethren.    We 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  91 

were  greatly  blessed,  the  small  church  growing  apace 
in  number  as  well  as  in  good  works,  so  much  so  that 
we  had  to  enlarge  our  rented  hall  and  in  less  than  six 
months  tear  down  two  walls.  Most  of  our  work  was 
done  in  the  open  air.  Every  Sunday  I  held  two  or 
more  open-air  meetings  and  our  preaching  place  was 
always  crowded.  The  number  of  members  grew  from 
twenty  to  over  sixty  and  the  believers  were  beginning 
to  lay  aside  means  for  building  a  chapel  and  entering 
into  self-support. 

Suddenly,  the  whole  work  had  to  be  laid  aside  on 
account  of  a  revolution  that  broke  out.  The  Brazilian 
Navy  and  the  Army,  stopping  all  traffic  between  the 
Federal  Capital  and  Nictheroy,  separating  families, 
scattering  our  believers,  transformed  the  great  city 
of  Nictheroy  into  a  military  camp.  After  struggling 
for  a  month,  helping  to  unite  the  families  that  had 
been  separated  on  account  of  this  revolution,  I  was 
finally  obliged  to  leave  Nictheroy  also.  Storing  my 
furniture  in  a  convenient  place  I  moved  to  the  city 
of  Campos,  a  city  about  150  miles  to  the  north  of 
Nictheroy,  hoping  to  be  able  as  soon  as  the  revolu- 
tion should  end  to  return  to  Nictheroy  and  continue 
the  work  there.    But  the  Lord  had  other  plans  for  me. 

Marriage  to  Miss  Emma  Morton. — After  the  death 
of  my  first  wife  my  chief  desire  was  to  return  to  the 
United  States  and  take  a  special  theological  course  in 
the  Louisville  Seminary.  My  knowledge  of  Baptist 
principles,  customs  and  usages  was  very  meager.  But 
dear  Dr.  R.  J.  Willingham  asked  me  to  stay  in  Brazil 
as  labourers  were  very  few  and  the  work  was  in  great 


92         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

need  of  help.  To  remain  in  Brazil  I  could  not  remain 
single,  as  the  work  of  a  single  missionary  is  greatly 
hampered.  God  in  His  marvelous  providence  seemed 
to  have  raised  up  a  qualified  and  competent  helper 
for  me,  one  who,  also  single,  was  hampered  in  her 
usefulness  in  the  Master's  service. 

The  person  mentioned  was  Miss  Emma  P.  Morton, 
missionary  of  our  Foreign  Mission  Board,  who  had 
arrived  in  Brazil  in  1889.  We  were  married  on  the 
1st  of  August,  1893,  in  the  First  Baptist  Church  of 
Rio  de  Janeiro  by  Dr.  J.  J.  Taylor.  It  was  a  very 
quiet  and  unostentatious  marriage. 

What  this  good  woman  has  been  to  me  and  to  my 
work  it  is  impossible  to  state.  Had  it  not  been  for 
her,  her  courage  and  counsel  and  prayers,  I  would 
never  have  been  able  to  do  the  work  the  Lord  has 
enabled  me  to  do.  Quiet  and  unassuming,  never  utter- 
ing a  discouraging  note,  though  only  God  knows  the 
trials  and  sufferings  we  have  had  to  go  through,  she 
has  stood  by  my  side  like  a  strong  tower  upon  which 
I  have  been  able  to  lean  and  rest.  She  is  known  on 
the  mission  field  as  one  who  has  never  been  heard  to 
utter  a  disparaging  word  about  any  other  missionary. 
Never  a  complaint  could  be  heard  from  her  lips. 

What  a  wonderful  blessing  the  Lord  had  in  store 
for  me!  How  glorious  are  his  dealings  with  us  and 
for  us !  Who  would  have  thought  that  the  ends  of  the 
earth  should  meet  in  far  away  Brazil  and  together  we 
would  live  and  work  for  the  Master  these  many  years. 
And  the  children  He  has  given  us,  what  a  joy  and 
what  a  treasure!   He  certainly  has  been  gracious  to 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  93 

us  and  we  praise  and  magnify  His  Holy  Name  for  all 
His  goodness  to  us  during  all  these  years  of  labor  and 
blessings  untold. 

Driven  to  Campos.— -The  city  of  Campos,  situated 
in  the  north  eastern  part  of  the  State  of  Rio,  is  the 
largest,  richest  and  most  progressive  city  of  that  State, 
larger  and  more  important  commercially  than  the 
capital  of  the  State.  Surrounding  the  city  are  wonder- 
ful plains,  rich  low-lands,  filled  with  the  best  of  sugar 
cane,  corn  and  rice  fields.  Three  hundred  sugar  cane 
mills  are  situated  in  that  section  of  the  county,  some 
of  these  being  the  largest  in  Brazil.  The  Sugar  King 
of  Brazil  lives  in  Campos.  Though  situated  about 
fifty  miles  inland,  it  has  an  outlet  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean 
via  the  port  of  San  John  da  Barra,  and  has  a  small 
fleet  of  vessels  that  ply  between  Campos  and  the 
Federal  Capital,  taking  down  its  own  merchandise  and 
bringing  back  to  Campos  most  of  the  necessities  of 
life. 

In  Campos  was  living  an  American  Southern  gen- 
tleman who  after  the  Civil  War,  in  which  he  lost 
everything,  had  moved  to  this  city  in  an  effort  to  start 
a  new  fortune.  Though  not  a  religious  man,  every 
American  found  in  him  a  great  friend  and  his  home  an 
open  house.  Having  spent  over  thirty  years  in  that 
city  and  gained  the  good  will  and  confidence  of  the 
people  he  thought  it  time  to  take  a  furlough  and  re- 
turn to  his  own  country  and  find  out  how  things  were 
going  in  the  land  of  Dixie  since  he  had  left  it.  Before 
leaving  he  informed  me  that  any  time  I  was  in  Campos 


94         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

he  would  consider  it  a  personal  favor  for  me  to  stay 
in  his  home,  which  he  had  left  in  the  care  of  a  Brazi- 
lian who  would  treat  me  with  his  usual  gracious 
hospitality. 

When  the  revolution  compelled  me  to  abandon 
Nictheroy  we  moved  to  Campos  and  into  the  home 
of  this  American  gentleman  whose  name  was  Beale. 
Having  to  leave  all  our  furniture  in  Nictheroy  and 
expecting  to  return  to  it  as  soon  as  the  revolution  was 
over,  we  thought  it  a  real  God-send  to  have  a  palatial 
home  like  that  to  go  to  and  where  we  found  every- 
thing necessary  for  our  comfort. 

Our  work  in  Campos  had  been  started  one  year 
previously  by  Dr.  Bagby,  though  religious  work  had 
been  carried  on  for  several  years  before  by  the  Presby- 
terians and  Congregationalists,  but  they  had  aban- 
doned it.  Dr.  Bagby  was  invited  to  visit  that  city 
and,  realizing  its  importance  for  the  future,  remained 
there  long  enough  to  organize  a  church,  leaving  a 
native  helper  to  look  after  it  in  his  absence. 

In  1892  the  Minas  missionary  couples,  Downing 
and  Soper,  moved  to  Campos  and  did  good  work,  but 
unfortunately  they  were  unable  to  stay  on  account  of 
sickness.  Both  missionary  couples  had  to  leave. 
When  I  moved  into  Campos  the  work  had  dwindled 
down  to  a  minimum. 

I  found  a  group  of  about  thirty  members.  From 
that  little  handful  of  seed  there  has  come  forth  the 
greatest  mission  field  in  Brazil.  At  the  present  time 
the  Campos  Mission  reports  over  sixty  organized 
churches,  most  of  them  self-supporting,  with  a  mem- 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL         95 

bcrship  of  over  eight  thousand,  and  preaching  places 
to  the  number  of  about  150,  which  in  the  next  five  or 
ten  years  will  be  self-supporting  churches.  In  baptisms 
this  field  is  now  reporting  every  year  about  a  thou- 
sand. We  thank  God  for  the  privilege  of  having  been 
permitted  to  lay  the  foundations  that  have  stood  the 
test  of  time. 

I  do  not  intimate  that  all  the  success  is  due  to  my 
labours  because  I  know  that  those  who  followed, 
Dunstan,  Crosland,  Christie  and  the  native  preachers, 
like  Joaquim  Lessa  and  others  did  the  greatest  part 
of  the  work.  But  I  do  thank  God  for  having  given  me 
the  opportunity  and  privilege  of  being  on  the  field 
just  at  the  beginning  and  of  having  had  some  part 
in  the  laying  of  the  foundations  of  the  great  edifice 
that  is  now  glorifying  God  and  our  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ  so  wonderfully. 

I  had  glorious  experiences  in  Campos  and  great 
struggles  and  difficulties.  Of  these  experiences  I  can 
only  relate  a  few.  These,  however,  will  prove  to  the 
reader  that  our  God  is  still  doing  wonders  and  that 
in  the  great  enterprise  of  missions  it  is  He  and  He 
alone  that  does  the  work.  "Not  unto  us,  O  God,  not 
unto  us,  but  unto  Thy  Name  give  glory."  Psalm  115  :1. 

Building  My  First  House  of  Worship. — One  of  the 
first  things  I  attempted  was  the  building  of  a  good 
house  of  worship.  The  believers  were  few  and  all 
were  very  poor.  We  fortunately  had  the  good  will 
of  the  people  of  the  city.  After  some  struggle  we 
obtained  for  a  reasonable  price  an  excellent  piece  of 
property  right  in  front  of  the  public  market  place. 


96         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

Then  I  began  to  pray  for  means  to  put  up  the  build- 
ing. I  went  to  the  Board  in  Richmond,  but  Dr. 
WiUingham  informed  me  that  there  were  no  funds 
available.  The  church  had  about  $100.00  in  the 
treasury  and  we  decided  to  start  the  building. 

One  of  my  maxims,  learned  from  dear  Dr.  John 
Wilkinson,  of  the  Mildmay  Alission,  to  the  Jews,  was 
to  ask  the  Lord  and  tell  the  people  about  our  needs. 
One  day  I  thought  I  would  let  the  citizens  of  the 
place  know  what  the  church  was  trying  to  do  and  of 
what  benefit  it  would  be  to  a  city  like  Campos.  I  did 
not  make  an  appeal,  but  let  them  know  that  we  would 
welcome  any  help  if  anyone  felt  disposed  to  give. 
Next  day  the  Vicar  of  the  town,  a  bitter  Jesuit  priest, 
published  an  article  in  which  he  denounced  the  Pro- 
testant religion,  calling  it  all  the  vile  names  imaginable 
and  closed  his  tirade  with  the  following  admonition: 
"Anyone  daring  to  help,  in  any  or  whatever  shape  or 
form  the  building  of  a  Protestant  chapel  will  be 
ipso  facto,  by  that  very  act,  excommunicated."  That 
article  helped  me  to  finish  the  building  of  that  beau- 
tiful chapel,  one  of  the  best  in  Brazil.  Every  day 
after  that  article  appeared  the  mail  brought  me  let- 
ters containing  cheques  or  money  orders  from  ten  to 
fifty  or  more  dollars,  which  almost  always  concluded 
with  the  following  statement :  "Mr.  Ginsburg,  please 
publish  my  name  and  that  I  have  sent  you  some  money 
for  I  do  want  to  be  excommunicated."  Most  of  the 
Brazilians  believe  that  the  greatest  blessing  that  could 
come  into  their  lives  is  an  excommunication  from 
the  Pope  or  priest.    Many  also  truly  believe  that  the 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL         97 

greatest  disaster  that  could  come  into  their  lives  or 
homes  is  a  blessing  from  the  Pope. 

Starting  in  San  Fidelis. — After  establishing  the 
work  in  Campos,  I  turned  to  the  next  important  center 
of  the  State,  viz.:  the  city  of  San  Fidelis,  in  a  rich 
coffee  district,  a  city  of  about  10,000  inhabitants  and 
where  there  were  a  few  interested. 

I  rented  a  house  in  the  heart  of  the  town  and  fur- 
nished it  with  a  few  benches  and  a  table.  Taking 
with  me  the  inseparable  folding  organ,  I  went  to  that 
city  to  commence  the  work  for  the  Master.  Mrs. 
Ginsburg  went  along  with  me,  this  being  our  first 
mission  trip  after  our  marriage.  The  interested 
persons  in  that  place  were  only  three,  a  man,  his  wife 
and  his  servant  girl.  Altogether  we  were  five  and 
we  began  the  work.  At  about  seven  in  the  evening 
I  began  the  meeting  by  singing  a  few  hymns  and 
soon  a  crowd  of  about  a  thousand  people  came  and 
stood  before  the  house.  The  preaching  hall  was  a 
front  room  with  three  windows  and  a  door  opening 
into  the  street.  Leading  this  crowd  was  a  small  stout 
elderly  looking  man  who,  I  was  informed  later,  was 
the  political  boss  of  the  place  or  county,  which  is 
quite  an  important  political  position  in  Brazil.  He 
had  one  son  as  Chief  of  Police  and  another  as  Regis- 
trar of  Deeds.  All  three  had  a  great  political  pull  in 
the  city,  and  county  and  State  and  as  such  were  able 
to  cover  up  a  good  deal  of  their  rascality. 

As  long  as  hymns  were  sung  no  opposition  de- 
Tcloped  except  the  throwing  of  stones,  grass  and  rub- 


98         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

bish.  As  soon  as  I  began  to  speak,  however,  pande- 
monium would  break  loose.  Indecent  and  insulting 
words  were  launched  at  us.  Unable  to  make  myself 
heard  I  resolved  to  sing  hymns.  It  is  still  surprising 
to  me  why  they  did  not  enter  the  room  and  attack  us 
directly  and  break  up  everything  and  everybody. 
However,  the  Lord  seemed  to  have  restrained  them. 
Once  I  said  to  the  political  boss  as  he  was  standing 
in  the  door:  "Why  don't  you  come  in?"  The  only 
answer  he  gave  was  to  lift  up  a  thick  club  that  he 
had  in  his  hand  and  say,  using  a  very  insulting  term, 
"If  I  go  in  it  will  be  to  break  your  head."  I  said,  "All 
right,  come  in  and  break  my  head,  but  first  listen  to 
what  I  have  to  say."  Finally  a  stone  struck  the  temple 
of  the  woman  present  and  I  had  to  close  the  meeting, 
announcing  another  one  for  the  following  day. 

In  Prison  Again^ — Next  day,  quite  early,  an  emis- 
sary of  the  Chief  of  Police  came  to  the  hotel  where 
I  was  staying  and  invited  me  to  appear  at  his  office. 
I  suspected  that  I  would  not  be  allowed  to  come  back. 
Having  some  money  with  me  I  turned  it  over  to  my 
wife  and  told  her  not  to  fear  and  that  if  I  should  not 
be  allowed  to  return  to  her,  to  telegraph  to  Rio  de 
Janeiro  and  get  the  brethren  to  take  up  the  matter. 

Reaching  the  office  of  the  Chief  I  found  him  sitting 
at  the  head  of  a  long  table,  having  on  one  hand  his 
secretary  and  at  the  other  his  brother,  the  Registrar 
of  Deeds,  and  walking  up  and  down  the  floor  the 
political  boss,  his  father. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL  99 

*What  is  your  name  and  profession?"  he  asked.  I 
took  out  my  card  and  gave  it  to  him. 

"You  are  prohibited  to  preach  your  damnable  reli- 
\on,"  he  shouted  in  a  very  angry  voice.  "You  are 
prohibited  to  preach  your  damnable  doctrines  in  this 
vjrhole  county." 

I  was  standing  in  front  of  him  and  answered  him 
in  a  calm  voice  and  a  broad  smile  on  my  face,  "Sr. 
Delegado  (Mr.  Chief),  I  am  very  sorry  not  to  be  able 
to  accommodate  you  in  this  particular  case.  You  see," 
I  said,  "I  am  a  Baptist  and  we  Baptists  do  not  accept 
orders  in  matters  of  religion  from  any  civil  authority, 
neither  from  you,  nor  the  governor  of  the  State  nor 
even  from  the  President  of  the  Republic.  We  have 
orders  from  one  who  is  superior  to  all  of  you." 

The  poor  fellow  must  have  thought  that  I  had 
orders  from  the  President  of  the  United  States,  for  he 
asked  in  a  furious  voice  and  with  a  fiery,  indignant 
expression,  "And  who  is  superior  to  the  President  of 
my  country?" 

I  happened  to  have  my  New  Testament  with  me 
and  opening  it  at  Matthew  28:18  and  19,  I  read  to 
him  the  following  words : 

"All  authority  hath  been  given  unto  me  in  heaven 
and  on  earth.  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  make  disciples 
of  all  nations,  baptizing  them  into  the  name  of  the 
Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  "This 
is  my  authority  and  I  am  here  to  fulfill  the  orders 
of  my  Lord  and  Master  Jesus  Christ.  I  am  here  obey- 
ing this  order,"  I  informed  him  and  sat  down. 

He  certainly  did  not  expect  such  an  answer  for  a 


100       A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

profound  silence  settled  over  them  all.  After  a  few 
minutes  he,  more  furiously  than  ever,  began  to  in- 
sult me,  using  abusive  language  on  account  of  a 
baptism  I  had  celebrated  in  the  river  and  that  malici- 
ous tongues  had  twisted  into  a  kind  of  indecent  cere- 
mony, as  he  expressed  it.  I  told  him  that  in  matters 
of  religion  I  had  absolutely  no  desire  to  justify  my 
actions.  "If  I  have  committed  a  crime  or  practiced 
something  unlawful,  I  am  ready  to  appear  before  the 
competent  judge  and  answer  for  myself,  but  as  to 
what  I  did  or  practiced  in  my  religious  work  he  had 
nothing  to  do  with  it."  Losing  his  temper,  not  ex- 
pecting such  plain,  outspoken  Baptist  principles,  he 
told  me  that  I  was  a  prisoner  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Governor  of  the  State,  and  calling  a  soldier  with  a 
loaded  gun,  he  told  him  to  keep  his  eye  on  me  and 
that  he  would  be  responsible  with  his  life  for  my 
person. 

That  day  and  night  I  passed  in  a  large  spacious  hall 
a  prisoner.  He  would  not  allow  any  one  to  see  me 
and  I  barely  managed  to  obtain  some  food,  as  it  was 
sent  to  me  by  my  wife.  I  passed  the  night  sleeping 
on  a  hard  bench,  though  I  did  not  sleep  much  on 
account  of  the  abundance  of  rats  that  infested  that 
place. 

Next  morning  before  the  train  left  for  Nictheroy, 
the  capital  of  the  State,  the  Chief  came  to  see  me. 
He  allowed  my  wife  to  come  also.  I  suppose  he 
thought  that  I  would  sue  for  mercy,  but  as  we  walked 
along  that  hall  chatting  and  laughing  for  the  very  joy 
of  being  permitted  to  suffer  for  the  Master,  he  called 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        101 

to  me  and  said  in  a  very  gentle  and  kind  voice, 

"Ora,  Sr.  Salomao!"  (Ginsburg  was  too  difficult  a 
name  for  the  natives  to  pronounce  so  they  would  call 
me  Solomon).  "Now,  Mr.  Solomon,  you  could  easily 
avoid  this  inconvenience." 

"Well,  what  must  I  do  to  avoid  it?"  I  asked. 

"You  promise  me  that  you  will  not  return  to  this 
city  to  preach  your  religion  and  I  will  let  you  go 
back  to  Campos." 

I  just  smiled  in  his  face  and  told  him  that  I  did  not 
preach  the  day  before  because  I  was  a  prisoner,  but 
should  I  get  out  he  could  be  sure  that  I  would  preach. 
As  soon  as  I  was  released  he  might  expect  me  to  re- 
turn and  continue  the  serv^ices  announced. 

Disgusted  I  suppose  at  my  obstinancy  he  called 
four  more  soldiers  with  loaded  guns  and  told  me  to 
march  to  the  station.  Mrs.  Ginsburg  came  along  also. 
Though  not  knowing  what  might  happen  to  me  or  her, 
never  for  one  moment  did  she  advise  me  to  give  in  to 
the  authorities.  I  begged  her  to  return  to  Campos,  but 
she  would  not  listen  to  that.  She  stood  by  me  like  a 
real  American  wife  and  seemed  perfectly  happy  and 
satisfied  at  the  privilege  of  suffering  for  the  Master. 
The  rabble  had  a  good  time  then,  yelling  all  kinds  of 
insults  and  throwing  stones  at  us,  but  we  really  did 
not  mind  it,  for  we  were  just  happy. 

Surrounded  by  the  five  soldiers,  we  left  the  city 
for  the  capital  of  the  State  where  we  arrived  in  the 
evening.  The  soldiers,  though  they  were  supposed  to 
look  after  us,  left  us  entirely  to  ourselves.  They  cer- 
tainly treated  us  better  than  the  chief. 


102        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

When  the  train  reached  Nictheroy,  the  sailors  who 
were  fighting  the  soldiers,  as  soon  as  they  saw  some 
uniforms  began  firing  at  the  squad  that  wi*s  with  us 
and  they  had  to  run  for  their  lives  and  we  ran  after 
them. 

Before  the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  State. — 
Reaching  the  police  headquarters  we  were  presented 
to  the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  State.  He,  after 
reading  the  documents,  told  one  of  his  ofticers  to  take 
me  to  the  "xadrez."  (This  name  is  given  to  the  hold 
or  place  where  the  common  prisoners,  drunkards, 
thieves  or  even  murderers  are  kept  until  transferred  to 
the  jail.)  My  heart  failed  me  when  I  heard  what  he 
said  and  I  inquired  of  him. 

"Tell  me.  Sir,  what  is  my  crime?" 

"Why,"  said  he,  "Don't  you  know  that  you  were 
disrespectful  to  the  authorities  and  disturbed  the  pub- 
lic peace!"     I  meekly  answered: 

"Sir,  I  was  pastor  of  a  church  here  in  Nictheroy  for 
a  long  time  and  have  preached  the  Gospel  in  almost 
every  part  of  this  city  and  you  can  ask  any  of  your 
officials  if  I  ever  disturbed  the  public  peace  or  was  dis- 
respectful to  the  authorities  in  any  way." 

"Do  you  mean  to  say  then,"  he  asked,  "that  the 
Chief  of  San  Fidelis  lied  to  me  in  these  official  docu- 
ments?" 

"I  answered  him  quite  innocently,  "Whether  he 
lies  to  you  officially  or  unofficially  I  cannot  say,  but  I 
will  tell  you  what  happened."  And  he  listened  pa- 
tiently to  what  I  had  to  say,  but  when  I  had  finished 
he  told  the  officer  to  take  me  to  the  "xadrex."    Then 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        103 

I  asked  him  "What  about  my  wife?  I  would  like 
to  send  her  to  some  friend,  as  this  city  is  now  a  mili- 
tary camp.  I  did  not  know  where  to  take  her."  He 
called  a  common  soldier  and  told  him  to  take  charge 
of  her,  but  I  was  to  go  to  the  "xadrex."  I  thanked  him 
for  his  offer,  but  told  him  that  my  wife  preferred  to 
go  alone. 

We  parted  not  knowing  whether  or  not  we  would 
be  permitted  to  see  each  other  again  and  commending 
each  other  to  the  Lord,  we  separated. 

I  was  taken  to  the  "xadrex."  That  xadrex  was  a 
horrible  place.  Imagine  a  small  room,  two  by  five 
yards,  with  windows  barred  and  opening  out  upon  a 
dirty  yard,  with  only  one  door  and  no  other  ventila- 
tion. In  this  room  there  must  have  been  huddled  to- 
gether at  least  forty  or  more  criminals.  The  stench 
that  assailed  my  nostrils,  when  the  jailor  took  me 
to  that  place,  was  awful  and  nearly  prostrated  me. 
I  hesitated  somewhat,  but  was  about  to  pass  the  door 
when  the  Lord  sent  me  one  of  his  angels  in  the  person 
of  a  soldier  who  was  a  believer.  Recognizing  me  he 
said, 

"Pastor,  if  you  will  promise  me  that  you  wnll  not 
run  away  we  will  let  you  stay  in  the  hall  with  the 
soldiers."  You  can  imagine  how  readily  I  accepted 
that  offer  and  how  grateful  I  was  for  that  favor, 
thanking  my  heavenly  Father  for  that  kindness. 

Next  day  while  I  was  standing  at  the  gate  of  the 
police  station  I  saw  the  Portuguese  Consul,  a  personal 
friend  of  mine.  Calling  him,  I  explained  my  predica- 
ment and  asked  him  to  see  what  he  could  do  to  help 


104        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

me.  He  promised  to  try  his  best,  but  warned  me  that 
he  might  not  be  successful  as  the  Portuguese  were 
suspected  of  helping  the  navy  in  its  fight  against  the 
Brazihan  RepubUc. 

He  went  to  the  authorities  and  when  he  left,  the 
Lieutenant-Governor  sent  an  officer  to  take  me  to  the 
penitentiary,  where  I  was  to  be  kept  incommunicable 
as  a  dangerous  political  criminal.  Why  they  did  not 
treat  me  as  they  did  a  great  many  political  antagonists 
I  can  only  attribute  to  the  good  mercy  of  our  heavenly 
Father.  The  way  they  got  rid  of  those  political  anta- 
gonists was  to  place  a  soldier's  uniform  on  them  and 
put  them  on  the  beach  where  the  sailors  would  snip 
them  off  as  fast  as  they  made  their  appearance.  I 
suppose  that  was  the  idea  the  Chief  of  Police  of  San 
Fidelis  had  when  he  sent  me  to  headquarters  as  a  dis- 
respector  of  authorities  and  disturber  of  the  public 
peace. 

Released  After  Ten  Days. — But  the  Lord  had  some 
work  for  me  yet.  My  good  wife,  brave  as  a  lion,  full 
of  faith  and  courage,  walked  through  the  streets  of 
Nictheroy  while  the  bombs  were  exploding  over  her 
head,  and  worked  until  she  reached  the  ear  of  the 
Governor  of  the  State.  After  midnight  on  the  tenth 
night  of  my  imprisonment,  he  sent  for  me  and  apolo- 
gized for  what  had  taken  place,  declaring  that  it  was 
all  a  mistake  and  asked  me  to  overlook  the  affair  as 
it  was  entirely  due  to  the  revolution  that  was  then 
raging  in  that  part  of  the  land,  promising  to  look  after 
me  as  soon  as  things  became  normal  again. 

I  told  the  Governor  that  as  far  as  I  was  concerned 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        105 

I  had  nothing  to  say  and  personally  would  not  con- 
sider the  matter  any  further;  but  what  I  wished  to 
know  was  whether  I  could  return  to  San  Fidelis  and 
continue  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel. 

He  then  said  to  me,  "That  is  exactly  why  I  sent  for 
you.  We  want  you  to  do  us  a  favor.  Just  now  the 
State  is  under  martial  law  and  every  Chief  of  Police 
has  full  power  in  his  hands.  Should  you  go  back  to 
San  Fidelis  before  this  revolution  is  over  we  would 
have  to  change  a  good  many  things  which  we  are 
just  now  unable  to  do.  If  you  will  do  us  the  favor 
not  to  return  to  that  city  until  the  revolution  is  over 
we  will  then  stand  by  you  and  see  that  you  receive 
the  protection  you  need." 

I  answered  the  Governor,  "All  right,  Sir,  Since  it 
is  a  favor  you  ask,  I  cannot  refuse.  But  were  it  an 
order,  my  dear  Sir,  I  would  have  to  tell  you  what  I 
told  that  Chief  of  Police,  viz.:  That  as  a  Baptist  I 
do  not  accept  orders  in  matters  of  religion  from  any 
civil  authority." 

Starting  Again  in  San  Fidelis. — On  March  13,  1894, 
the  revolution  ended  with  the  surrender  of  the  fleet, 
and  on  the  20th  of  the  same  month  I  returned  to  San 
Fidelis.  Persecutions  continued  as  the  same  authority 
was  still  in  power. 

One  day  while  in  Rio  de  Janeiro  I  received  a  letter 
from  my  native  helper  telling  me  of  a  great  persecu- 
tion that  had  taken  place  in  San  Fidelis  the  previous 
Sunday.  Looking  up  I  saw  the  Lieutenant-Governor 
of  that  State,  and  I  asked  him  if  he  remembered  me. 
He  said  "yes  I" 


106        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

"You  remember  the  promise  you  made  to  me  about 
San  Fidelis?'*  "Yes!"  "Well,  then  read  this  letter." 
He  read  it  and  asked  me  when  I  was  expecting  to  be 
in  that  city  and  I  told  him  "Next  Sunday." 

"Very  well,"  he  said,  "You  go  and  I  will  see  that 
you  are  fully  protected  in  your  mission." 

As  I  was  taking  the  train  on  Saturday  morning  I 
saw  a  group  of  about  fifty  soldiers  ready  to  embark 
for  San  Fidelis.  I  spoke  to  the  officer  in  charge,  and 
was  informed  that  they  were  going  to  defend  a  Pro- 
testant pastor  who  was  being  persecuted  by  a  Catholic 
politician.  All  those  soldiers,  he  told  me,  were  either 
Protestants  or  friendly  to  that  cause.  I  informed  him 
that  I  was  the  pastor  and  begged  him  not  to  let  the 
Chief  know  why  they  were  sent  and  to  await  develop- 
ments. What  I  asked  him  especially  was  to  avoid  the 
shedding  of  blood. 

Arriving  in  San  Fidelis  the  soldiers  presented  them- 
selves to  the  Chief,  who  thought  that  they  were  sent 
to  him  to  finish  up  the  Protestants.  On  Sunday  we 
had  our  usual  meeting.  At  the  evening  service  a  large 
group  of  persecutors  were  brought  into  town  by  the 
political  boss  to  finish  up  the  job,  now  that  they  had 
the  soldiers  to  help  them  as  they  thought.  You  can 
perhaps  better  imagine  their  surprise  when  they  real- 
ized that  the  soldiers  were  there  to  preserve  the  peace. 
And  to  understand  that  fact  some  of  them  returned 
to  their  homes  with  bad  bruises  and  cuts  and  some 
even  with  broken  limbs.  After  that  we  never  again 
were  disturbed. 

A    Missionary's    Revenge. — Before    finishing    this 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        107 

story  I  wish  to  tell  how  I  got  my  revenge  upon  that 
Chief  of  Police.  I  suppose  few  of  my  readers  would 
think  that  a  missionary  would  think  of  revenge,  but  I 
do  and  I  practice  it  pretty  often.  Just  read  it  and  see 
how  we  do  it  and  how  greatly  we  enjoy  that  part  of 
our  game. 

Not  so  long  after  the  late  persecution  the  political 
party,  led  by  the  father  of  that  Chief,  lost  its  power 
and  he  and  his  family  lost  their  prestige.  The  opposi- 
tion boss  was  a  personal  friend  of  mine  and  a  daugh- 
ter of  his  was  a  member  of  our  church.  When  the 
new  party  assumed  the  political  power,  I  asked  them 
for  only  one  favor  and  that  was  this : 

"If  ever  that  Chief  of  Police  gets  in  trouble  or 
prison  let  me  know."  It  turned  out  that  during  the 
elections,  frauds  were  discovered  and  a  shooting  took 
place  in  the  very  hall  where  I  was  kept  a  prisoner 
for  twenty-four  hours,  and  three  were  left  dead.  The 
chief,  the  one  who  had  me  imprisoned,  was  caught. 

The  day  following  I  received  a  telegram  advising 
me  of  the  fact  and  I  hastened  to  San  Fidelis  and 
asked  the  political  boss  (the  new  one)  to  turn  the 
prisoner  over  to  me  and  let  me  do  to  him  what  I  had 
in  mind.  The  man  was  afraid  that  I  might  take 
justice  into  my  own  hands,  but  I  assured  him  that  I 
had  no  intention  of  doing  that  man  any  harm,  and  if 
he  wished  he  could  come  along  and  see  what  I  in- 
tended to  do.  With  a  permit  of  release  in  my  hand  I 
went  to  the  prison  and  told  the  man  that  the  time  of 
my  revenge  had  arrived  and  that  it  gave  me  great 
pleasure  to  restore  him  to  his  wife  and  children.    He 


108       A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

certainly  was  dumbfounded  and  even  forgot  to  thank 
me.  He  went  home  and  the  next  day  disappeared  fear- 
ing the  vengence  of  others  worse  than  myself. 

Today  San  Fidelis  is  proudly  glorying  in  a  very 
prosperous  church.  One  well-to-do  merchant  was  con- 
verted and  made  a  present  of  a  choice  piece  of  prop- 
erty in  the  heart  of  the  city  on  which  to  build  a 
church.  A  brother  of  this  merchant,  a  rich  coffee 
farmer,  gave  me  the  necessary  means  to  build  a  chapel 
that  stands  today  as  a  monument  to  the  power  of  God 
in  keeping  his  servants  and  in  glorifying  Himself  in 
the  spreading  of  the  Good  News.  In  spite  of  all  the 
opposition  of  the  power  of  darkness, 

"The  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail." 

The  Work  of  a  Little  Bibl©.--"My  father  has  a 
book  just  like  yours  and  he  has  been  reading  it  to 
his  family  almost  every  day;  would  you  not  like  to 
meet  him?"  This  was  put  up  to  me  by  a  young  lady 
after  she  had  listened  to  my  Sunday  evening  sermon 
in  our  rented  hall  in  the  city  of  Campos. 

I  had  noticed  her  and  her  close  attention.  As  soon 
as  the  meeting  was  over  I  hurried  to  the  door  and 
asked  her  if  she  had  enjoyed  the  meeting  and  if  she 
would  like  to  have  a  talk  with  me  about  the  subject. 
She  came  into  the  hall  and  we  had  a  good  long  chat 
about  her  father  who  was  living  about  fifteen  miles 
away  from  the  city,  on  a  large  farm,  and  who  she  said 
would  be  glad  to  see  me  and  talk  about  the  book  out 
of  which  I  was  preaching. 

On  reaching  the  farm  a  few  weeks  afterwards,  I 
found  an  elderly  man  awaiting  my  arrival  on  the  steps 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        109 

of  his  farm  house,  reading  out  of  a  well-worn  little 
Bible,  of  the  cheap  kind,  copies  of  which  we  used  to 
sell  for  about  10  cents.  He  received  me  with  open 
arms,  embracing  me  in  a  real  Brazilian  fashion. 

The  farm  was  very  extensive  in  land,  but  greatly 
neglected  and  dilapidated.  Although  the  members  of 
the  family  were  very  numerous,  there  being  about  a 
dozen  children,  exclusive  of  sons-in-law,  daughters-in- 
law  and  grandchildren,  yet  due  to  slavery,  that  had 
been  abolished  only  a  few  years  previous,  the  family 
had  not  learned  how  to  take  care  of  themselves  or  even 
look  after  their  own  welfare. 

The  old  man  practiced  real  Brazilian  hospitality  and 
treated  me  royally. 

One  of  the  first  things  I  asked  him  soon  after  my 
arrival  was,  "How  did'  that  little  Bible  come  into  your 
possession?"  and  he  told  me  the  following  wonder- 
ful story.  I  will  give  it  to  you  just  as  he  told  it  to  me, 
though  it  will  be  impossible  for  me  to  describe  the  way 
he  told  it  and  the  tears  that  coursed  down  his  cheek 
as  he  related  some  of  the  most  touching  incidents. 

Faithfulness  of  a  Young  Colporter. — "One  even- 
ing," he  said,  "as  I  was  sitting  on  the  steps  of  this, 
my  home,  cooling  off  after  a  hot  and  hard  day  of 
labor,  a  young  man  walked  up,  carrying  a  satchel  on 
his  shoulder  that  seemed  to  be  very  heavy.  He  looked 
tired  and  hungry  and  in  a  very  humble  way 
asked  me  for  a  night^s  lodging.  I  immediately  told 
him  that  he  was  very  w^elcome  and  that  he  could  relieve 
himself  of  the  heavy  load  he  was  carrying  and  make 


no       A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

himself  at  home.  But  the  young  man  came  up  a  little 
closer  and  said : 

"Before  I  accept  your  offer  I  want  you  to  under- 
stand that  I  have  asked  this  same  favor  of  some  of 
your  neighbors  and  they  all  refused,  some  of  them 
even  threatening  me  with  their  dogs." 

Astonished,  the  old  man  asked,  "What  can  be  your 
crime?"  The  Brazilians  are  a  very  hospitable  people 
and  only  a  great  criminal  is  refused  a  night's  lodging. 

But  the  young  man  answered  me  quite  sincerely,  "I 
am  not  a  criminal,  but  I  am  a  Protestant,  and  for  that 
reason  I  have  been  refused  hospitality." 

The  old  man  saw  the  point  immediately  and  repented 
having  offered  his  home,  for  he,  too,  had  been  warned 
not  to  have  anything  to  do  with  the  Protestants ;  not 
to  take  them  into  his  home,  not  even  to  give  them  a 
glass  of  water  when  in  need.  But  he  did  not  like  to  go 
back  on  his  word  and  looking  at  the  young  man  and 
realizing  that  there  was  no  other  farm  near  he  had  pity 
on  him  and  told  him, 

"All  right;  I  am  not  going  back  on  my  word  and 
you  can  find  yourself  a  sleeping  place  in  one  of  the 
barns.  But  tomorrow,  real  early,  before  sunrise,  you 
just  get  out  as  quietly  as  possible  and  let  no  one  see 
you.  I  do  not  want  anyone  to  know  that  I  have 
harbored  a  Protestant  in  my  place  and  get  me  in 
trouble  with  the  priest." 

The  young  man  thanked  him  heartily  and  finding 
himself  a  comer  in  one  of  the  many  barns  that  were 
about  the  farm  he  retired,  or,  as  the  farmer  put  it, 
"made  himself  scarce." 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        HI 

Supper  time  came,  however,  and  while  the  farmer 
was  sipping  his  hot  cup  of  coffee,  the  hungry  and 
haggard  face  of  the  poor  traveler  came  to  his  mind. 
Thinking  that  the  young  man  very  likely  had  not  had 
anything  to  eat  that  day,  he  told  one  of  his  sons  to 
invite  him  into  the  kitchen  for  a  cup  of  coffee.  The 
man  came  in  and  enjoyed  immensely  the  hot  cup  of 
coffee  and  bowl  of  farinha  (a  vegetable  substance 
made  out  of  the  mandioca  root  and  after  proper  grind- 
ing and  roasting  is  used  as  food). 

Turning  to  the  old  man  he  said :  "I  am  very  grate- 
ful to  you  for  your  kindness  and  would  like  to  show 
you  my  appreciation  for  what  you  have  done,  for  you 
have,  no  doubt,  saved  my  life ;  but  I  am  poor  and  un- 
able to  do  anything.  But,  if  you  have  no  objection, 
I  will  ask  our  heavenly  Father,  who  is  Almighty,  to 
bless  and  reward  you." 

The  Power  of  Prayer. — The  old  man  did  not  know 
what  he  wanted  to  do  and  curiaus  to  know  what  was 
going  to  happen  he  told  him  to  go  ahead.  The  col- 
porter,  kneeling  down,  and  lifting  his  eyes  and  hands 
to  heaven,  invoked  a  touching  blessing  upon  the  man, 
upon  his  loved  ones  and  upon  all  that  were  near  and 
dear  to  him.  Every  time  the  farmer  told  that  story 
tears  would  stream  down  his  face.  He  had  never 
heard  a  man  pray. 

No  Catholic  knows  real  heart-to-heart  prayers. 
Usually  he  goes  to  mass  and  hears  the  priest  repeat 
phrases  in  Latin,  the  Lord's  Prayer  or  Hail  Mary, 
without  understanding  a  word.  Whenever  the  priest 
stands  up,  he  stands  up.     If  the  priest  smites  his 


112        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

breast  or  makes  the  sign  of  the  cross,  he  imitates  him. 
That  was  as  far  as  the  old  man's  religious  experi- 
ence would  go.  But  when  he  heard  this  young  man 
talk  with  God  and  speak  to  him,  as  a  son  speaking  to 
his  father,  it  was  something  wonderful  to  him. 

The  colporter  went  to  his  barn  to  sleep  and  the 
farmer  went  to  his  room,  but  could  not  sleep.  That 
prayer  penetrated  his  heart  and  made  him  wonder  if, 
after  all,  the  Protestants  did  not  have  something  that 
he  had  never  dreamed  of.  Early  before  sunrise  he 
stood  watching  the  entrance  to  that  barn.  When,  at 
last,  the  young  man  came  forth  ready  for  his  journey, 
the  farmer  asked  him  to  go  into  the  dining  hall  for 
another  cup  of  coffee  before  his  leaving. 

As  soon  as  he  had  finished  his  cup  of  coffee  the 
farmer  asked  him  to  teach  him  that  prayer  of  the 
previous  day.  The  colporter  informed  him  that  those 
prayers  were  not  printed  but  offered  extempore,  just  as 
a  child  would  speak  to  his  own  father. 

"Well,  then,"  said  the  farmer,  "please  pray  again 
and  ask  the  heavenly  Father  for  a  blessing  upon  me 
and  my  loved  ones." 

The  colporter  readily  acceeded  to  that  request.  In 
the  presence  of  all,  kneeling  down,  he  offered  a  very 
touching  prayer  asking  the  Lord  to  bless  and  open 
the  eyes  of  all  present  to  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 
When  he  had  finished  there  were  very  few  dry  eyes 
and  the  old  man  begged  him  to  write  that  prayer 
down  5nd  let  him  learn  it  by  heart.  But  the  youn^ 
man  told  him  that  he  had  something  better  for  him 
and  that  was  a  book  that  would  teach  him  how  to 


(f^      -    '"m- 


® 


I 


Kl^if-' 


PLATE  VI.  SCENES,  PERNAMBUCO  COLLEGE. 


1.  H.   H.   Muirhead,  President. 

2.  MiniAterial  Students. 

3.  Training  School  Students. 

4.  Main  Building. 
5-  Student  Body. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        113 

speak  to  his  Father  in  heaven.  He  gave  him  that  little 
Bible,  marking  several  chapters  for  him  to  read. 

As  soon  as  the  old  man  got  hold  of  that  book  he 
began  reading  it.  First  he  read  the  parts  marked  by 
the  colporter,  then  the  whole  book  from  cover  to  cover. 
First  he  read  it  by  himself  then  called  his  wife  and 
children.  Then  I  arrived  on  that  farm  and  after  spend- 
ing a  few  weeks,  teaching  and  preaching  I  baptized 
and  organized  a  church  of  over  fifty  believers. 

Oh,  the  zeal  of  those  converts !  There  were  young 
girls  of  not  more  than  twelve  or  thirteen  years  of  age 
that  would  walk,  ten,  fifteen  and  even  as  many  as 
thirty  miles,  to  invite  some  friend  or  relative  to  the 
meeting.  Today,  we  have  in  that  district  a  chain  of 
churches,  self-supporting,  spiritual  and  powerful  cen- 
ters for  God  and  righteousness. 

Persecution  la  Macahe. — ^About  fifty  miles  south  of 
Campos,  along  the  railroad  and  near  the  Atlantic 
Coast,  is  the  city  of  Macahe,  a  strong  business  center 
with  a  population  of  about  fifteen  or  perhaps  twenty 
thousand  persons.  It  is  a  pretty  little  town,  the  prin- 
cipal one  of  the  county,  and  which  is  one  of  the 
richest  in  the  State,  boasting  of  sugar  cane  fields  as 
well  as  rice  fields  and  other  valuable  products.  The 
political  boss  of  that  section  was  a  scion  of  an  old 
aristocratic  family,  owner  of  extensive  tracts  of  lands, 
as  well  as  of  a  beautiful  castle  right  opposite  the  rail- 
road station,  commanding  a  view  of  the  whole  town. 
One  of  the  sons  of  that  family  was  Federal  Senator 
and  another  was  owner  and  chief  editor  of  the  local 
paper.     Every  political  position  of  importance  was 


114        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

occupied  by  one  or  another  relative  of  that  family. 
Old  aristocrats,  their  religion  was  Catholicism  and 
no  other  faith  had  been  allowed  to  enter  the  town 
or  community. 

After  much  prayer  I  decided  to  move  a  family  of 
believers  from  Campos  to  Macahe,  whose  relatives 
lived  in  Macahe.  That  man  was  Brother  Antonio 
Maia,  who  was  a  cooper  by  trade,  and  now  a  good 
preacher  of  the  Gospel.  He  had  been  tried  and  proved 
a  strong  believer  and  faithful  Christian.  We  rented  a 
place  for  him  in  Macahe  where  he  not  only  could  work 
at  his  trade  but  also  could  have  a  home  for  his  rather 
large  family  and  furnish  us  with  a  hall  to  preach  in. 
His  place  was  not  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  nor  very 
attractive,  but  it  gave  us  a  beginning,  an  entering 
wedge. 

Persecutions  began  immediately.  The  politicians, 
though  not  in  person  like  those  in  San  Fidelis,  but, 
nevertheless  with  their  approval,  began  the  attack. 
I  was  subjected  to  all  kinds  of  persecutions.  The 
articles  published  against  me  and  against  the  cause  of 
Christ  were  so  vile  and  so  low  that  I  had  to  call  the 
editor  to  the  courts,  asking  the  judge  to  make  him 
produce  the  original  so  that  a  suit  of  slander  could  be 
brought  against  him.  The  editor,  however,  had  the 
article  signed  by  one  of  the  vilest  characters  in  town 
and  when  presented  I  informed  the  judge  that  I  was 
perfectly  satisfied,  as  insults  coming  from  such  a 
source  was  an  honor.  I  paid  the  cost  and  left  the 
court 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        115 

Conversion  of  Sr.  Cnrindyba. — But  the  greater  the 
persecution  the  more  abundant  usually  are  the  results. 
Souls  were  being  saved  and  it  was  not  long  until  a 
very  live,  spiritual  church  was  organized  and  an  ex- 
cellent hall  rented  in  one  of  the  principal  streets  of 
the  town.  Means  were  being  gathered  also  for  a  build- 
ing in  which  the  church  was  to  establish  its  working 
center. 

One  thing  that  helped  wonderfully  was  the  con- 
version of  one  of  the  most  dangerous  characters  of 
the  district,  a  man  used  by  the  politicians  to  terrorize 
the  people,  especially  on  election  days ;  a  man  whom 
the  police  were  afraid  to  oppose  as  he  was  protected 
by  the  political  faction  or  rather  family. 

This  man  lived  near  our  preaching  hall  and  was 
the  father  of  two  beautiful  little  girls.  His  wife  and 
the  two  children  began  coming  to  the  meetings  and 
the  two  girls  became  very  fond  of  our  hymns  and 
great  friends  of  mine.  When  the  preaching  place  was 
moved  into  the  larger  hall,  they  also  came,  though 
the  father  would  not  enter  on  any  condition. 

One  day  he  found  out  that  the  Catholics  had  re- 
solved to  break  up  our  meeting.  The  plan  was  for 
some  of  the  persecutors  to  enter  the  hall  and  in  the 
midst  of  the  service  begin  a  disturbance,  then  break 
the  lamps  and  destroy  everything  and  everybody  they 
could  lay  their  hands  on.  He  did  not  tell  me  a  word 
about  it,  but  asked  some  of  his  companions  to  be  on 
hand.  When  the  persecutors  arrived  he  just  told  them : 
**You  may  go  in,  but  remember  my  wife  and  children 
are  in  there  and  woe  betide  you  if  anything  should 


116        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

happen  to  them.  You  can  go  in,  but  I  do  not  g^uar- 
antee  that  you  will  come  out  alive." 

Of  course  that  frightened  most  of  them  away  and 
not  one  of  the  persecuting  group  entered.  One,  how- 
ever, a  tall,  strong  looking  fellow  stood  at  the  door 
waiting  for  an  opportimity  to  do  something.  I  hap- 
pened to  be  giving  a  simple  and  plain  Gospel  message 
when  this  fellow  began  shouting:  "I  protest!  I  pro- 
test!" But  he  could  say  very  little  more,  for  before 
he  really  knew  what  had  happened  to  him,  he  was 
lying  in  the  middle  of  the  street  with  his  throat 
scratched,  enough  to  make  him  realize  the  danger  he 
was  in.  Who  ever  did  it  has  not  been  known  to  this 
day,  but  it  was  after  this  incident  that  the  father  of 
those  girls  began  to  come  into  our  meetings  and  before 
long  surrendered  to  the  Lord  and  it  was  my  privilege 
to  baptize  him  as  well  as  his  wife.  Today  this  man 
is  a  great  worker  for  the  Master. 

Starting  All  Over  Again. — W'ith  the  conversion  of 
this  man  persecutions  more  or  less  ceased,  and,  after 
locating  a  competent  native  helper  in  this  place  I  began 
looking  around  for  another  important  center  to  open 
up  for  the  Master  when  I  was  suddenly  called  back  to 
Macahe  on  accotmt  of  a  new  and  this  time  a  more 
dangerous  persecution.  The  cause  of  it  was  a  very 
simple  thing. 

The  native  pastor,  a  young  but  very  zealous 
preacher,  had  been  found  on  his  knees  praying  in  a 
bedroom,  with  the  wife  and  daughter  of  a  man  who 
was  very  bitter  against  the  Gospel.  This  man,  taking 
advantage  of  the  occasion,  immediately  went  into  the 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        117 

street  shouting  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  "Come  and  see 
where  I  found  the  Protestant  preacher;  in  my  bed- 
room with  my  wife."  Though  everyone  knew  that  the 
native  pastor  would  be  incapable  of  committing  any- 
thing immoral,  yet  it  was  taken  up  by  the  enemies  and 
a  new  persecution  broke  out  that  threatened  to  anni- 
hilate the  whole  work.  This  obliged  my  return  to  the 
city  where  I  had  to  start  the  work  almost  anew. 

The  Catholics  hired  the  man  who  had  signed  that 
vile  article  against  the  cause  to  which  I  referred  above 
to  persecute  us.  A  more  brutal,  vile  and  degraded 
creature  could  not  be  found  anywhere.  He  was  paid 
to  do  all  that  his  low  and  degraded  mind  could  imagine 
and  he  certainly  did  invent  some  of  the  most  devilish 
tricks  against  us. 

One  thing  that  I  was  determined  to  do  was  to  keep 
up  our  open-air  meetings  and  thus  reach  the  people. 
It  was  this  very  thing  that  the  Catholic  group  were 
resolved  to  oppose  at  any  cost.  Every  time  I  would 
hold  a  meeting  in  the  public  square,  this  vile  character 
and  his  drunken  companions  would  come  and  howl  in 
favor  of  the  other  religion.  Of  course,  as  long  as  he 
howled  I  could  not  preach,  I  had  to  keep  quiet  and 
would  ask  the  believers  to  sing  a  hymn.  Then  he 
would  come  very  close  to  my  face  and  with  a  tobacco 
and  alcoholic  stench  coming  from  his  toothless  mouth 
would  begin  to  yell.  Often  I  was  tempted  to  try  my 
knuckles  on  his  face,  but  instead  I  asked  the  Lord  to 
keep  my  fist  quiet,  for  it  was  just  that  that  they 
wanted.  It  would  then  give  them  the  opportunity  they 
were  looking  for  to  justify  their  attacks  upon  us. 


118        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

Prohibited  to  Preach. — However,  some  brother 
Masons  could  not  tolerate  this  persecution.  Not  being 
obliged  to  respect  the  Catholic  group  as  we  were  ob- 
liged to,  they  resolved  to  teach  them  a  lesson  and  one 
night  had  a  good  fist  fight,  breaking  some  Catholic 
noses  and  heads.  I  was  very  sorry  when  I  heard  what 
had  happened,  for  I  knew  that  it  would  stir  the  Catho- 
lics up  to  yet  greater  persecutions. 

The  Sunday  following  I  was  about  to  hold  my  reg- 
ular open-air  meeting  in  the  Public  Square  when  I 
received  notice  from  the  Chief  of  Police  prohibiting 
me  from  holding  the  meeting.  I  asked  him  why  and 
he  informed  me  that  it  was  to  prevent  the  shedding 
of  blood.  I  asked  him  who  gave  him  the  right  to 
prohibit  me  from  shedding  my  blood  for  the  cause  I 
represented,  or  to  show  me  at  least  one  clause  of  the 
Constitution  or  Civil  Law,  if  he  could. 

I  knew  that  he  could  not,  and  I  protested  that  I 
would  take  the  cause  to  the  Governor  of  the  State 
and  that  if  he  approved  of  his  action,  to  expect  me 
back  ready  to  take  me  to  prison,  for  I  was  determined 
to  preach  the  Gospel  on  the  Public  Square  as  the 
Brazilian  Constitution  gave  me  the  right  to  do. 

The  fact  was  that  the  Catholics  had  arranged  from 
the  surrounding  district  for  a  group  of  about  150 
bandits,  to  come  on  horseback  to  finish  once  and  for 
all  the  Protestant  propaganda  in  Macahe.  The  Chief 
of  Police,  unable  to  protect  me,  had  resolved  to  pro- 
hibit both  meetings — mine  and  the  Catholics — but  I 
did  not  like  to  be  classified  in  the  same  category  as  the 
law-breaking  element  and  naturally  protested.    I  told 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        119 

the  Chief  that  he  ought  to  stop  the  persecutors  but 
not  the  preacher. 

I  asked  Dr.  Bagby  to  accompany  me,  and  we  went 
to  the  capital  of  the  State  to  see  the  Governor.  He 
was  one  of  the  pioneer  RepubHcans,  a  signer  of  the 
RepubHcan  Constitution  and  a  thorough  gentleman. 
He  received  us  cordially  and  went  over  all  the  details 
of  the  disturbance  as  I  presented  them  to  him  and  he 
assured  me  that  he  would  stand  by  us  and  that  we 
could  return  to  Macahe  and  hold  our  meetings  accord- 
ing to  the  dictates  of  our  conscience. 

On  my  way  back  to  Campos  I  stopped  over  at 
Macahe  and  asked  the  Chief  of  Police  if  the  prohibi- 
tion against  my  meetings  continued  and  he  answered 
in  the  affirmative.  I  told  him  that  I  had  seen  the 
Governor  and  that  he  should  be  ready  to  take  me  to 
prison  on  the  next  Sunday,  as  I  would  be  back  then 
determined  to  hold  the  meeting. 

When  I  reached  Campos  I  telegraphed  to  the  Gov- 
ernor more  or  less  in  the  following  words :  "Passing 
through  Macahe  I  saw  Chief  of  Police,  who  affirms 
that  my  meetings  are  still  prohibited,  but,  I  trusting 
in  your  promises,  will  be  in  Macahe  next  Sunday  to 
hold  my  meeting  in  the  Public  Square.  Please  look 
into  this  affair." 

Complete  Victory. — Sunday  I  reached  the  town 
about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  and  I  brought 
bills  with  me  announcing  a  meeting  for  four  o'clock 
in  the  Public  Square.  The  Governor  had  sent  a  ver}^ 
severe  telegram  to  the  Chief  that  was  published  in  all 
the  daily  papers  and  contained  the  following : 


120        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

"You  cannot  prohibit  the  meetings  of  the  Rev.  Solo- 
mon L.  Ginsburg  on  any  or  whatever  pretext.  If  you 
have  not  enough  forces  to  protect  him  in  the  exercise 
of  the  right  that  our  Constitution  gives  him,  you  can 
call  upon  us  and  we  will  place  at  your  disposal  all  the 
military  forces  of  the  State;  and  if,  peradventure, 
those  are  not  sufficient,  I  will  see  to  it  that  all  the 
Federal  forces  are  placed  at  your  disposal,  but  the 
Constitution  must  be  upheld." 

That  was  a  bitter  pill  for  the  Chief  to  swallow,  but 
ft  taught  him  to  do  his  duty.  At  four  o'clock  the 
Square  was  crowded  with  over  5,000  people.  Our  be- 
lievers numbered  only  about  25.  As  soon  as  I  stood 
up  to  speak  the  Catholic  group  began  its  usual  howl- 
ing process  close  to  where  our  group  stood.  Then 
the  Chief  appeared  with  only  a  dozen  soldiers,  but  all 
had  loaded  guns.  He  spoke  to  the  leader  of  the  op- 
position group  to  move  to  another  part  of  the  square 
alleging  that  he  was  disturbing  our  meeting.  The 
leader  began  to  harangue  and  to  call  upon  his  com- 
panions to  protest. 

The  Chief  only  said:  "Soldiers,  prepare  arms!" 

That  was  enough.  The  group  cleared  the  square 
and  we  were  left  in  peace.  I  preached  for  over  an 
hour  and  ever  afterwards  the  meetings  were  held  in 
comparative  peace.  Today  we  have  in  Macahe  a 
strong,  self-supporting  spiritual  church,  a  center  for 
many  other  churches  in  the  rich  surrounding  district. 
Had  we  given  in  at  Macahe  we  could  not  have  done 
anything  more  in  that  part  of  the  State. 

Rumours  of  Assassination. — A  very  comical  thing 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        121 

happened  in  connection  with  this  persecution.  One 
daily  paper  in  Campos,  received  information  that  I  had 
been  assassinated  and  placed  the  rumour  on  the  black- 
board in  front  of  its  offices.  Some  brethren  saw  it 
and  wondered  if  my  wife  knew  anything  about  it.  So 
they  resolved  to  send  one  man  to  inquire.  It  was  late 
in  the  evening  and  he  found  Mrs.  Ginsburg  ready  to 
retire  and  he  very  delicately  inquired  if  she  had  re- 
ceived any  news  from  me.  She  thought  it  rather 
strange  that  he  should  come  out  at  such  a  late  hour, 
but  she  encouraged  him  by  saying  that  she  was  sure  I 
was  all  right. 

This  man,  not  a  believer,  though  a  very  honest  and 
well-meaning  friend,  resolved  to  telegraph  to  me  and 
and  he  did  it  in  the  following  terms : 

"It  is  rumored  here  that  you  are  assassinated ;  please 
inform  me  if  it  is  true."  I  telegraphed  to  him  that 
the  rumor  was  rather  exaggerated ;  that  it  was  true  I 
had  gone  through  a  very  trying  time,  but  that  the 
Lord  had  delivered  me  from  the  hands  of  the  assassin 
and  that  soon  I  would  be  there  to  tell  him  all  about  it. 

The  Power  of  the  Printed  Page. — ^Almost  as  soon  as 
I  established  myself  in  Campos,  I  tried  to  make  the 
best  possible  use  of  the  printed  page.  Dr.  Z.  C.  Tay- 
lor maintained  a  small  press  in  Bahia,  publishing  a 
monthly  eight-page  paper.  In  Baptist  literature  we 
had  almost  nothing,  except  Dr.  S.  H.  Ford's  Origin 
and  History  of  Baptists,  in  a  very  poorly  translated 
edition. 

I  had  no  available  means  for  that  kind  of  work, 
but  saving  some  from  the  meager  salary,  exchange 


122        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

being  rather  favorable,  I  managed  to  buy  a  few  cases 
of  type  and  a  small  press  and  began  the  publication 
of  a  paper  called  "The  Good  News."  At  first  it  was 
published  monthly,  but  soon  it  became  fortnightly 
and  for  one  year  it  was  published  every  week.  Later 
the  Lord  enabled  me  to  buy,  at  an  auction,  a  large 
French  cylinder  press  for  very  little  money,  which, 
after  being  cleaned  and  properly  oiled  became  an  ex- 
cellent help  to  the  work  as  well  as  a  means  of  income, 
as  I  rented  it  out  for  night  work.  That  brought  me 
in  money  enough  to  pay  the  printers  and  enabled  me 
to  run  the  paper  for  a  good  while  at  almost  no  ex- 
pense. 

With  this  press  I  was  able  to  publish  a  series  of 
doctrinal  and  evangelistic  tracts,  and  keep  up  a  dis- 
cussion through  the  daily  press,  both  with  the  Jesuits 
and  Spiritualists. 

I  had  a  very  simple  way  of  utilizing  the  printed 
page.  To  teachers,  judges,  police  authorities,  priests, 
etc.,  etc.,  I  would  send  the  paper  asking  them  not  only 
to  read  it,  but,  if  they  so  desired,  to  send  for  other 
literature,  especially  for  a  copy  of  the  Bible.  It  was 
wonderful  how  the  people  availed  themselves  of  this 
offer.  From  the  priests  alone  would  come  all  kinds 
of  insults.  Some  of  them  would  return  the  paper  all 
covered  with  insulting  terms.  Others  would  write 
begging  me  not  to  send  the  paper  to  them,  but  out 
of  the  2,500  copies  distributed  every  week,  few  would 
come  back.  The  results  were  really  beyond  expecta- 
tions.  The  seed  sown  brought  forth  abundant  harvest. 

One  source  of  good  results  was  our  own  hymn  book, 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        123 

called  "Cantor  Christao."  I  started  that  book  while  in 
Pernambuco,  even  before  becoming  a  Baptist.  The 
first  edition  was  a  small  leaflet  containing  16  hymns. 
The  first  one  I  ever  translated  into  the  Portuguese 
language  was  that  inspiring  one:  "Showers  of  Bless- 
ings." The  native  believers  took  to  my  hymns  gladly, 
which  encouraged  me  greatly.  It  did  me  good  to  hear 
them  sing  those  beautiful  Gospel  songs  in  their  homes, 
in  the  work-shops  and  even  as  they  were  walking 
along  the  streets.  Today  we  have  a  hymn  book  con- 
taining about  600  hymns. 

Organizing  the  First  Church  in  the  Amazon  Valley. 
Through  the  Httle  paper,  "The  Good  News,"  I  got  in 
touch  with  Brother  E.  A.  Nelson,  who  was  working 
heroically  in  the  Amazon  Valley,  trying  to  preach  and 
support  himself  and  family  by  the  sale  of  books.  Sev- 
eral times  he  urged  me  to  make  him  a  visit  and  help 
him  organize  the  First  Baptist  Church  in  that  region 
as  he  himself  was  not  an  ordained  minister  then. 

Needing  a  change  and  a  little  rest  I  resolved,  with 
the  permission  and  help  of  our  Board  in  Richmond, 
to  make  a  visit  to  that  region.  At  that  time  from 
Rio  de  Janeiro  to  Para  we  spent  about  seventeen  days 
on  the  sea.  Today  the  voyage  can  be  made  in  about 
twelve  days  or  less. 

The  change  of  air  and  the  absolute  rest  on  board 
the  vessel  did  me  a  great  deal  of  good  and  when  I 
reached  Para,  I  was  ready  for  work  again. 

I  found  Brother  Nelson  and  his  good  wife  in  great 
difficulties.     He  was  living    in    a    basement,  having 


124        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

transformed  the  front  part  into  a  preaching  hall.  The 
benches  were  made  of  boxes  in  which  had  been  ship- 
ped the  Bibles  from  the  Bible  Society.  Next  to  the 
front  room  was  a  dark  room  with  no  windows  which 
was  Brother  Nelson's  bedroom,  where  he,  his  wife 
and  children  slept.  No  wonder  that  both  he  and  his 
wife  had  suffered  a  double  siege  of  yellow  fever  and 
the  surprise  to  me  was  that  they  had  not  died.  Be- 
hind that  room  was  the  kitchen  transformed  into  a 
dining  and  guest's  sleeping  room,  where  I  passed  the 
days  I  spent  with  him.  Fortunately  I  passed  most  of 
the  time  in  a  neighboring  park.  It  is  a  mystery  to 
me  yet  how  I  escaped  yellow  fever  and  slept  those 
eleven  nights  in  that  place.  Of  course  it  was  the 
Lord's  doing  for  He  took  care  of  me. 

Every  night  we  had  blessed  meetings.  Brother  Nel- 
son possesses  a  voice  that  can  be  heard  for  miles. 
He  was  once  upon  a  time  a  cowboy  and  when  he  lets 
his  lungs  function  he  can  make  himself  heard  far 
away.  At  a  convention  in  Rio  I  once  suggested  that 
to  evangelize  South  America  all  that  was  needed  was 
to  place  Brother  Nelson  on  top  of  the  Andes  and  let 
him  preach.  He  drew  the  crowds,  especially  when  he 
played  his  fiddle  and  sang  some  of  his  hymns,  com- 
posed by  himself  or  rather  translated  by  him.  We  had 
several  conversions  and  it  was  my  privilege  to  bap- 
tize for  the  first  time  in  history  some  converts  in  the 
great  Amazon  River  and  then  organize  the  First  Bap- 
tist Church  of  that  region.  After  the  organization  of 
the  church  Brother  Nelson  was  called  to  the  pastorate 
and  the  nearest  Baptist  Church,  which  was  then  in 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        125 

Pernambuco,  a   distance  of  about  2,000  miles,  was 
asked  to  ordain  him  to  the  ministry. 

Ordination  of  Brother  E.  A.  Nelson. — ^A  few  weeks 
afterwards  while  passing  through  Pernambuco  I 
found  Brother  Nelson  awaiting  my  arrival.  The 
church  in  Pernambuco  had  called  a  Council  of  which 
Dr.  W.  E.  Entzminger,  the  missionary  in  charge  of  the 
field,  was  moderator.  Brother  Nelson  was  examined 
in  the  doctrine  and  found  to  be  correct  and  the  church 
voted  in  favor  of  his  ordination.  That  was  a  never-to- 
be-forgotten  occasion  and  a  blessed  privilege. 

Brother  Nelson  was  sent  back  to  the  Amazon  Val- 
ley rejoicing.  The  work  he  has  done  ever  since  in 
that  extensive  field,  attests  the  correctness  of  our 
action  and  recommendation.  The  Board  in  Richmond 
accepted  our  request,  and  Brother  Nelson  was  ap- 
pointed missionary  of  our  Board.  Today  his  name 
as  the  "Apostle  of  the  Amazon  Valley"  is  known  all 
over  our  Southland,  and  truly  no  one,  that  knows  him 
and  the  great  work  he  has  accomplished  in  that  vast 
region  can  deny  him  that  title. 

Another  Attempt  at  Assassination. — On  my  return 
from  the  Amazon  Valley  I  stopped  over  with  Brother 
Entzminger,  and  held  special  meetings  both  at  the 
Recife  and  the  Nazareth  Churches.  In  Nazareth  the 
meetings  were  well  attended  every  night,  but  the 
majority  of  the  people,  intimidated  by  the  local  priest, 
were  afraid  to  come  into  our  spacious  hall.  To  be 
able  to  reach  those  I  thought  it  best  to  hold  an  open- 
air  meeting  and  announced  one  for  the  following  Sun- 


126       A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

day  afternoon  in  the  public  street.  Here  began  our 
troubles. 

We  had  a  very  active  church  and  some  of  the  mem- 
bers belonged  to  the  best  families  of  the  town.  The 
city,  though  not  very  large,  was  considered  one  of  the 
most  important  in  the  State,  both  intellectually  as  well 
as  financially.  The  county,  of  which  Nazareth  was 
the  seat,  was  considered  the  richest  and  most  im- 
portant. Unfortunately  the  spiritual  life  of  the  church 
was  not  then  at  the  very  highest.  Some  difficulties 
had  arisen  and  some  of  the  best  members  had  been 
found  wanting. 

My  object  in  holding  the  open-air  meeting  was  to 
get  the  ear  of  the  people  and  to  tell  them  something  of 
the  power  of  God  to  save,  as  well  as  to  hold,  those  who 
were  really  saved. 

The  priest  found  it  a  good  occasion  to  show  his 
power  and,  in  combination  with  the  leading  authori- 
ties of  the  place,  arranged  with  a  bandit  to  assassinate 
me  while  I  was  preaching  in  the  open  air.  On  the 
day  I  was  to  preach,  the  priest  and  all  the  police  au- 
thorities, even  the  soldiers  left  the  city ;  the  public  pro- 
secutor and  all  the  judges  went  away  so  that  I  would 
have  no  one  to  appeal  to  and  the  assasin  could  accom- 
plish his  job  without  being  hindered. 

I  was  warned  and,  relatives  of  some  of  the  better 
class  members,  begged  me  not  to  hold  the  meeting,  as 
It  might  endanger  our  lives  and  the  lives  of  some  of 
the  families.  But  I  would  not  desist.  I  knew  per- 
fectly well  what  it  would  mean  to  desist  after  an- 
nouncing such  a  meeting.     The  enemy  would  think 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        127 

that  we  were  afraid  and  the  news  of  our  fear  would 
spread  far  and  wide  and  would  make  it  very  difficult 
to  hold  open-air  meetings  in  other  places.  I  preferred 
dying  to  running  away.  Then,  also,  1  knew  that  my 
heavenly  Father  was  able  to  take  care  of  me  and  if 
He  thought  it  best  for  me  to  lay  down  my  life  then 
and  there,  who  was  I  to  run  away  ?  I  was  determined 
to  hold  the  meeting  even  if  I  had  to  go  alone. 

At  the  appointed  time  I  was  at  the  place  and,  I  may 
add,  very  few  of  the  believers  were  absent,  though 
most  of  them  knew  that  they  were  risking  their  lives. 
Brother  Entzminger  was  there  and  with  his  strong  and 
splendid  voice,  sang  those  beautiful  Gospel  hymns  of 
Zion,  filling  the  street  with  the  blessed  Gospel  news. 
All  the  windows,  however,  around  about  the  place, 
were  closely  fastened,  although  we  knew  that  ears 
were  pressed  to  everyone  of  them,  awaiting  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fight. 

I  began  my  sermon  and  preached  about  the  various 
doctrines  the  Baptists  believe.  I  spoke  for  about  an 
hour,  expecting  every  minute  for  some  one  to  start  the 
persecution,  but  nothing  happened.  I  was  beginning 
to  get  disappointed.  After  speaking  for  about  an  hour, 
I  asked  the  brethren  to  sing  another  hymn  and  then 
started  anew,  this  time  attacking  the  Church  of  Rome 
in  all  of  its  teachings.  I  explained  about  Purgatory, 
attacked  the  confessional,  showed  the  results  of  Celi- 
bacy, and  so  on.  But  nothing  happened  and  I  finished 
the  meeting  cruelly  disappointed. 

What  had  happened?  A  very  simple  thing.  The 
priest  in  withdrawing  every  civil  authority  from  the 


128        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

place  had  forgotten  to  remove  King  Alcohol,  one  of 
his  best  allies.  The  poor  fellow  who  was  bought  to 
accomplish  the  job,  needed  courage,  and  to  obtain 
that,  he  went  to  drinking  and  once  started  on  that 
track  he  overdid  it,  for  drink  over-powered  him  and 
put  him  to  sleep.  Here  is  one  good  job  King  Alcohol 
accomplished,  saving  my  life.  When  he  awoke  from 
his  sleep  the  open-air  meeting  was  over  and  he  had 
missed  his  opportunity.  The  poor  fellow  was  so  im- 
pressed with  that  happening,  that  he  began  to  fre- 
quent the  meetings  and  two  months  afterwards  made 
his  public  profession  of  faith,  and,  with  tears  stream- 
ing down  his  face,  told  the  church  what  had  happened 
on  that  memorable  day. 

Several  years  afterwards  this  same  man,  having 
joined  the  State  militia,  was  sent  to  Limoeirio  to  pro- 
tect my  life,  then  being  threatened  by  a  band  of  eighty 
assassins,  and  how  wonderfully  he  gave  an  account  of 
himself  looking  after  me  day  and  night,  not  allowing 
any  suspicious  character  to  get  near  me,  you  will  find 
in  Chapter  V,  page  156. 

Yes,  our  Lord  still  reigns  and  is  able  to  care  for 
those  who  trust  in  Him.    Blessed  be  His  name ! 


CHAPTER  V. 
IN  PERNAMBUCO  (1900-1909). 

Conditions  of  Work  in  1900. — Baptist  work  in  the 
Pemambuco  field  was  really  organized  in  1892.  A 
small  church  had  been  organized  by  Dr.  Z.  C.  Taylor 
and  C.  D.  Daniel  in  that  city  before  that  time,  but  its 
spiritual  condition  was  so  low  that  it  was  practically 
dead.  When  Dr.  Entzminger  and  myself  went  there 
to  see  what  could  be  done  to  place  the  work  in  order 
the  organization  was  dissolved  and  out  of  a  group  of 
sixty  or  more  only  eleven  were  kept  and  the  present 
First  Church  organized. 

Brother  Entzminger  took  hold  of  this  small  but 
valiant  group  of  believers  and  built  up  a  great  and 
lasting  work.  He  spread  the  truth  far  and  wide  and 
established  churches  and  preaching  places  that  have 
stood  the  test  of  time.  One  of  the  things  that  helped 
the  Baptist  cause  in  that  State  more  than  any  other 
during  Brother  Entzminger's  period,  was  a  discussion 
in  the  daily  press  with  one  of  the  leading  Catholic 
priests.  The  discussion  was  about  the  Apocryphal 
Books  and  Brother  Entzminger  gained  a  signal  vic- 
tory. He  not  only  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  all, 
that  the  Aprocryphal  books  were  not  canonical,  but 
also  established  the  fact  that  the  Baptist  ministry  was 
not  ignorant  and  backward. 

Another  characteristic  of  Dr.  Entzminger's  mm- 
istry  was  the  evangelistic  spirit  he  infused  into  the 


iJU        A  WA^iDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

believers.  Due  to  that,  Baptist  principles  and  ideals 
spread  rapidly  into  a  good  many  new  places,  villages 
and  districts.  Every  believer  was  like  a  torch-bearer 
and  the  Gospel  was  entering  into  places  where  the 
Lord's  JMame  and  Saving  Power  were  completely  un- 
known, it  was  this  fact  that  stirred  up  bitter  and 
unheard  of  persecutions.  Church  edihces  were  burned, 
believers  were  flogged  and  their  homes  burned  over 
their  heads. 

In  some  places  the  persecutors  would  break  into 
the  home  of  the  believer  and  turn  every  one  out  of 
their  beds  and  into  the  yard.  There  masked  ruffians, 
each  one  with  a  leather  whip  would  stand  in  line.  The 
believer,  man,  woman  or  child  would  be  forced  to  pass 
through  the  lines  while  each  ruffian  would  strike  at 
the  poor  victim  who  many  a  time  would  fall  almost 
lifeless  at  their  feet.  In  one  farm  house  they  found 
the  lady  of  the  house  in  bed  just  a  week  after  child- 
birth. They  cut  the  hammock  in  which  the  innocent 
baby  was  asleep  and  let  it  drop  to  the  ground  killing 
it,  and  the  poor  mother  was  forced  into  the  yard  and 
made  to  pass  through  a  double  row  of  bandits,  each 
one  striking  as  hard  as  he  could  on  her  almost  naked 
body. 

These  persecutions  instead  of  diminishing  the 
growth  of  tne  Kingdom  helped  it  on.  Many  of  the 
persecutors  who  took  part  in  these  crimes  could  not 
help  admiring  the  testimony  and  marvelous  faith  of 
the  Christians.  Today  some  of  the  worst  persecu- 
tors are  leading  members  in  some  of  our  Baptist 
churches  in  that  great  field. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        131 

Unfortunately,  however,  the  health  of  the  mis- 
sionaries gave  way  under  the  strain  of  such  trying 
times.  Mrs.  Entzminger  was  almost  given  up  by  the 
physician  who  ordered  her  to  leave  the  State  and  seek 
a  better  and  cooler  climate.  Hearing  of  their  need  I 
invited  Brother  Entzminger  to  come  to  the  hills  of 
Nova  Friburgo  where  Mrs.  Ginsburg  had  been  also 
wonderfully  renewed  in  health. 

They  had  not  been  with  us  more  than  a  week  when 
a  telegram  reached  them  about  a  new  persecution,  one 
of  the  most  terrible  that  had  ever  happened.  That  they 
might  be  able  to  enjoy  their  much  needed  rest  and 
change  I  offered  to  gfo  to  Pernambuco  and  help  the  be- 
lievers or  rather  stand  by  them  during  those  terrible 
hours  of  danger.  It  was  that  persecution  that  took  me 
to  Pernambuco  again  after  eight  years  of  absence. 

Bom  Jardim  Persecution.  —  Bom  Jardim  (Good 
Garden)  is  a  small  interior  city  about  twenty  miles 
from  the  railroad.  Nestled  among  the  hills  and  moun- 
tains in  the  northern  part  of  the  State,  it  is  known  as 
one  of  the  most  enchanting  places.  Surrounded  by 
rich  sugar  cane  and  cattle  plantations  it  is  a  wealthy 
center  and  has  a  great  future,  especially  if  the  plan 
for  a  railroad  should  materialize. 

On  several  of  the  farms  located  in  that  district  the 
Gospel  had  had  an  entrance,  and  was  also  being 
preached  in  one  of  the  homes  of  one  of  the  leading 
citizens  of  that  city.  As  it  often  happens,  the  young 
converts  full  of  zeal  and  lack  of  prudence  began  to 
laugh  and  scoff  at  the  Catholics  and  their  priest. 
Nothing  would  have  happened  had  it  not  been  that 


132        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

the  leading  convert  and  some  of  the  believing  farmers, 
who  were  allowing  the  Gospel  to  be  preached  on  their 
farms,  belonged  to  the  opposing  political  party.  The 
politician  who  was  then  in  the  lead,  resolved  to  stop 
not  only  the  propaganda  of  the  Gospel,  but  also  to 
teach  his  political  opponents  a  lesson.  I  really  believe 
that  this  man  never  imagined  that  his  plan  would  go 
to  the  extreme  that  it  went  to,  but  it  turned  out  to  be 
one  of  the  most  awful  catastrophies  in  the  annals  of 
crime  in  the  State  of  Pernambuco.  What  happened 
was  as  follows: 

The  political  boss,  a  physician,  had  combined  with 
the  Catholic  farmers  to  send  a  detachment  of  their 
hired  help,  most  of  them  ignorant  bandits,  into  town 
on  the  eve  of  Easter  Sunday  of  the  year  1900  for  the 
purpose  of  attacking  the  group  of  believers  as  they 
were  gathered  in  the  home  of  the  leading  convert. 
The  object  was  to  punish  and  if  necessary  kill  every- 
one present,  especially  the  preacher.  Rumors  of  this 
reached  the  believers  and  though  they  did  not  think 
it  possible  for  such  a  thing  to  happen  they  neverthe- 
less prevailed  upon  the  women  that  night  to  hide  in  the 
forest,  while  they,  the  men,  fifteen  in  number  took 
themselves  to  prayer. 

Meanwhile  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city  the  bandits 
were  assembled  and  after  much  drinking  and  shouting 
they  decided  to  divide  forces,  one  group  to  enter  the 
city  and  attack  the  house  from  the  front  and  the  other 
group  to  attack  the  house  from  behind.  Over  eight 
hundred  bandits  had  come  together  to  attack  a  group 
of  fifteen  harmless  and  helpless  believers.    The  signal 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        133 

for  the  attack  for  the  group  that  was  coming  from 
behind  was  a  gun  shot  in  the  air. 

The  night  was  very  dark.  Very  few  in  town  knew 
what  was  going  to  take  place.  The  pubhc  theater 
situated  close  by  the  meeting  place  was  crowded  with 
men,  women  and  children  from  nearly  all  homes. 

It  was  about  eight  o'clock  at  night  that  the  bandits 
made  their  entrance  into  the  town  with  wild  shouts. 
The  people,  not  knowing  the  object  of  their  coming, 
thought  that  the  bandits  had  come  to  rob  and  kill 
everyone,  as  had  lately  happened  in  some  other  places. 
The  news  reached  the  theater  and  then  pandemonium 
broke  loose.  Women  and  children  screamed  and 
fainted  and  men  begged  the  political  boss  to  stop  the 
entrance  of  those  bandits  into  the  city. 

But  the  bandits  were  already  in  town  and  were 
coming  down  the  street  where  the  theater  and  meeting 
place  were  situated.  However,  the  political  boss,  urged 
by  the  mayor  of  the  town,  seeing  what  was  taking 
place  in  the  theater,  met  the  group  and  managed  to 
make  himself  heard  by  the  leader  of  the  bandits  tell- 
ing him  to  return  as  it  was  causing  great  consterna- 
tion and  alarm  among  the  women  of  the  town.  The 
leader  of  the  bandits  apparently  consented  to  with- 
draw, but  whether  purposely  or  not,  he  raised  a  gun 
and  gave  the  agreed  upon  signal  shooting  in  the  air 
and  shouting,  "Long  live  our  Lady  Saint  Ann." 

The  group  that  was  coming  from  behind,  not  know- 
ing what  was  taking  place,  as  soon  as  they  heard  the 
shot  came  rushing  into  the  street  and  began  firing 
thinking  that  they  were  attacking  the  Protestants. 


134        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

The  group  in  the  streets,  seeing  that  they  were  being 
attacked,  thought  it  must  be  the  Protestants  that  were 
making  the  attack,  began  to  fire  into  the  other  group. 
Before  the  mistake  was  discovered  more  than  twenty- 
five  were  killed  and  over  a  hundred  wounded.  Oh,  it 
was  a  terrible  night !  While  this  killing  was  going  on 
the  believers  were  on  their  knees  praying  and  asking 
the  Lord  to  deliver  them  from  the  hands  of  their  cruel 
enemies. 

All  the  night  the  Catholics  were  working  hard  to 
hide  the  results  of  their  fight,  burying  the  dead  and 
removing  the  wounded.  Some  of  the  families,  how- 
ever, could  not  hide  their  sorrow,  especially  the  poli- 
tical boss  who  lost  one  of  his  own  nephews,  a  promis- 
ing young  man,  who  was  killed  cold-bloodedly  as  he 
was  watching  the  scene.  Were  it  not  for  this  fact  the 
political  boss  would  have  kept  very  quiet,  but  he  lost 
his  head  at  the  sight  of  the  dead  body  of  his  sisters 
only  child  and  he  resolved  to  avenge  himself  on  the 
now  more  than  hated  Protestants. 

And  the  way  he  did  it  was  to  make  out  a  case  of 
willful  murder  against  the  Protestants,  obliging  the 
judge,  a  silly  young  rascal,  who  was  a  tool  in  his 
hands,  to  accept  false  testimony  and  order  the  arrest 
of  the  few  men  who  were  present  at  the  meeting  and 
on  their  knees  praying.  Not  one  bit  of  evidence  could 
be  found  against  the  believers.  They  even  did  not 
have  a  gun  in  the  house,  but  the  politician  had  his 
false  witnesses  who  swore  to  having  seen  the  Pro- 
testants attack  the  Catholics  and  the  judge  ordered  the 
imprisonment  of  eight    of    the    believers,  while  the 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        135 

others  were  obliged  to  hide  until  justice  could  be  ob- 
tained. 

Standing  by  Persecuted  Converts. — It  was  at  this 
juncture  that  I  arrived  in  Pernambuco.  My  first  visit 
was  to  Bom  Jardim,  to  see  what  could  be  done  to 
release  the  believers  from  the  awful  accusation  and 
imprisonment.  I  visited,  before  leaving  Pernambuco, 
the  Governor  of  the  State,  asking  him  for  a  safe  con- 
duct. I  had  brought  with  me  a  strong  recommenda- 
tion from  some  of  the  leading  men  of  Brazil  and  when 
the  Governor  heard  my  request  asked  me  if  I  was  not 
afraid  to  go  to  such  a  place.  I  answered  him :  "Afraid 
of  what?"  "Why,  of  the  people  that  did  such  an 
awful  deed  not  long  ago."  I  frankly  stated:  "If  you 
can  guarantee  me  the  authorities  I  am  not  afraid  of  the 
people."  He  did  not  seem  to  like  my  answer,  but  gave 
me  the  necessary  safe  conduct  and  I  went  to  Bom 
Jardim.  Brother  Jefthe  E.  Hamilton,  now  deceased, 
was  my  companion.  On  the  road  to  Bom  Jardim,  just 
as  we  were  about  to  pass  through  the  district  from 
whence  came  the  bandits  that  had  been  enlisted  for 
the  persecution,  I  met  a  detachment  of  soldiers  who 
were  to  accompany  me  to  the  city,  but  after  taking 
their  picture  I  told  them  to  look  after  Brother  Hamil- 
ton, and  I  putting  the  spurs  into  my  horse  crossed  the 
hills  and  entered  the  city  alone. 

I  was  royally  entertained  in  the  home  of  the  new 
political  leader.  Another  party  had  come  into  power. 
The  leader  of  this  new  party  was  of  Portuguese  de- 
scent, a  baker  by  trade,  and  anxious  to  be  in  power  to 
be  able  to  make  his  pile  of  money.    The  position  of 


136        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

political  leader  in  the  interior  of  Brazil  is  one  of  the 
most  remunerative  ones.  To  be  able  to  get  the  be- 
lievers freed  I  had  to  make  liberal  presents  both  to 
the  children  of  the  political  boss  as  v^ell  as  to  those 
of  the  judge  who  happened  to  be  the  father  of  eight 
girls.  Then  I  had  to  pay  for  the  entertainment  of  all 
the  farmers  who  were  to  serve  on  the  jury.  To  make 
a  long  story  short,  it  took  me  about  four  years  to 
obtain  the  acquittal  of  the  nineteen  men  that  were 
dragged  into  the  case  and  spent  over  $2,500  in  gold. 
And  even  then,  were  it  not  for  the  political  boss,  whose 
power  over  the  judge  and  jurors  was  so  great  that  he 
would  enter  the  court,  and  in  the  very  presence  of  the 
judge,  open  the  urn  containing  the  names  of  the  jurors 
and  place  the  names  of  those  he  thought  might  not 
vote  according  to  his  own  view,  where  there  would 
be  no  possibility  of  their  being  called,  the  poor  in- 
nocent believers  would  have  been  condemned  as  mur- 
derers. 

It  was  a  great  fight  but  the  results  were  wonderful 
for  today  the  Gospel  is  spreading  over  that  vast  dis- 
trict in  a  most  marvelous  way.  Churches  and  preach- 
ing places  are  springing  up  everywhere  and  some  of 
our  best  native  preachers  have  come  from  that  very 
city.  The  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  in  Per- 
nambuco,  Rev.  Orlando  Falcao,  is  a  son  of  the  lawyer 
who  was  the  first  one  to  defend  the  persecuted  be- 
lievers in  Bom  Jardim. 

Discussions  in  the  Daily  Press. — Making  Per- 
nambuco  my  new  headquarters  I  immediately  began 
efforts  to  strengthen  the  Baptist  position  in  the  capital 


PLATE   II. 

1  First    Baptist    Church,    Pernambuco. 

2.  Ginsbure    Traveling    Interior. 

3  First  Baptist  Church,  Campos. 

4!  Prison  in   San   Fidelis. 

5.  San   Fidelis  Baptist  Church 

I  Trav.Ung   in  tie  Interior  of  Brazil. 

7.'  Of«m-Alr  Meeting  in  Camfo*. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        137 

of  the  State.  We  were  then  worshipping  in  a  rented 
hall  on  a  second  floor,  into  which  about  sixty  could 
hardly  squeeze  themselves.  Shortly  after  my  arrival 
I  bought  an  excellent  piece  of  property  on  which  a 
temporary  hall  was  put  up.  To  this  hall  we  trans- 
ferred the  meetings.  The  Lord  blessed  the  work  in 
that  temporary  hall.  Hundreds  of  souls  were  con- 
verted and  a  continual  revival  prevailed.  I  organized 
open-air  meetings  in  several  districts  of  the  city  and 
the  Master's  cause  was  spreading  like  a  fire  through 
every  district.  Though  the  hall  was  not  attractive,  it 
somehow  drew  the  people,  and  even  some  of  the  better 
class  and  the  Lord  converted  them. 

This  naturally  provoked  the  opposition  of  the 
Catholic  clergy  and  soon  an  Anti-Protestant  League 
was  organized  to  combat  Protestantism,  and  especially 
the  Baptists.  Every  day  articles  would  appear  in  one 
of  the  dailies,  written  by  some  of  the  leading  men  of 
the  city  or  State.  They  began  attacking  our  doctrines 
which  I  answered  indirectly,  addressing  myself  to  the 
public  instead  of  to  the  clergy  that  wrote.  As  a  rule, 
the  Catholics  and  Jesuits  in  public  discussions  quibble 
and  quarrel  over  phrases  and  words  instead  of  doc- 
trines and  principles.  To  avoid  useless  discussions  I 
thought  it  best  not  to  pay  any  attention  to  personal- 
ities, but  teach  and  explain  the  truth  and  the  simpli- 
city of  the  Gospel.  In  my  articles  I  never  attacked 
parties  or  persons  but  took  up  the  arguments  pre- 
sented by  the  opponents,  and  addressed  my  answers 
and  appeal  to  the  public  in  general. 


138       A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

The  results  of  this  discussion,  which  lasted  three 
years  were  most  satisfactory.  The  monk,  who  was 
spokesman  for  the  league,  lost  his  head  and  began 
insulting  me  in  a  most  shameful  way  and  unable  to 
stop  my  teachings  and  appeals,  began  to  solicit  my 
expulsion  from  the  country  as  an  undesirable  char- 
acter. It  was  then  that  the  republicans  and  liberal- 
minded  men  took  up  the  discussion  and  began  to  an- 
swer the  priest,  writing  terrible  articles  against  him. 

They  finally  denounced  him  publicly  proving  that 
most  of  his  articles  were  plagiarised.  They  broke  up 
the  Anti-Protestant  League.  Two  very  interesting 
things  happened  during  these  public  discussions.  One 
was  the  attempt  to  burn  copies  of  the  Bible  and  the 
other  the  meeting  of  a  priest  in  a  railroad  carriage. 

Public  Burning  of  the  Bible. — In  all  my  articles 
published  in  the  daily  press  during  the  three  years  of 
discussion  I  would  urge  the  readers  to  verify  my  state- 
ments in  the  Bible,  no  matter  whether  a  Catholic  or 
Protestant.  If,  peradventure,  they  did  not  possess  a 
copy  of  the  same,  to  let  me  know,  that  I  would  gladly 
furnish  them  one.  I  never  sold  so  many  Bibles 
as  during  those  three  years  and,  as  is  usually,  the  case, 
it  accomplished  its  purpose,  converting  souls  and 
opening  the  eyes  of  many  to  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus,  our  Lord. 

This  statement  of  mine  in  the  papers  angered  the 
priests  more  than  anything  else.  They  did  everything 
in  their  power  to  convince  the  people  that  they  ought 
HOt  to  have  anything  to  do  with  Bibles  ;  never  to  read, 
but  to  bum  every  copy  that  might  fall  into  their  hands. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        139 

And  to  convince  them  not  only  that  our  Bibles  were 
false  and  that  they  ought  to  be  burned  they  organized 
a  public  Bible  burning  affair.  This  insult  to  Pro- 
testanism,  I  thought,  ought  to  be  prevented,  as  the 
Constitution  of  Brazil,  as  well  as  the  Civil  Law,  pro- 
hibited public  insults  against  any  r^eligious  symbol  of 
whatever  creed.  I,  therefore,  sent  a  cablegram  to  all 
the  papers  published  in  the  Federal  Capital.  Another 
to  one  of  the  Senators  of  the  District  as  well  as  to  the 
President  of  the  Republic  and  the  Secretary  of  State 
protesting  against  this  outrage  in  the  name  of  the 
Brazilian  Baptists,  as  well  as  that  of  the  millions  of 
Baptists  in  the  world. 

That  telegram  accomplished  wonders.  The  question 
was  taken  up  by  one  of  the  leading  representatives 
who  was  from  the  State  of  Rio  Grande  do  Sul,  where 
there  are  more  than  250,000  German  Lutherans,  and  in 
their  name  as  well  as  in  ours  attacked  the  bishop  of 
Pcrnambuco  for  allowing  such  an  outrage  to  take 
place  in  his  city,  making  him  responsible  for  it.  The 
President  of  the  Republic  was  asked  to  stop  that  Bible 
burning  and  he  immediately  telegraphed  to  the  Gover- 
nor of  Pernambuco  to  that  effect,  and  it  was  stopped. 
That  was  a  great  victory  for  the  cause  of  righteous- 
ness. I  was  returning  from  a  trip  to  the  interior  when 
an  evening  paper  was  handed  to  me.  The  paper 
brought  extensive  telegrams  from  Rio  de  Janeiro  giv- 
ing full  accounts  of  the  epoch-making  speech  delivered 
in  the  Senate  by  the  representative  of  Rio  Grande 
do  Sul.  As  soon  as  I  read  it  I  just  had  to  shout  and 
throw  my  cap  as  high  as  the  railroad  carriage  would 


140       A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

permit.  It  was  a  glorious  victory  and  I  was  grateful 
for  having  been  permitted  to  have  had  a  part  in  it. 
That  evening,  while  visiting  the  editors  of  the  paper 
that  published  my  articles,  I  met  one  of  the  leading 
politicians  of  the  State  who  told  me:  "Sr.  Solomao, 
you  have  killed  the  bishop  and  gained  a  great  victory. 
I  congratulate  you  and  wish  you  continued  success. 
Just  go  on  as  you  have  been  doing.  You  have  many 
friends  in  town  who  are  waiting  for  the  opportunity 
to  come  out  openly  and  stand  by  you."  Soon  after 
that  these  friends  came  out  and  many  of  them  helped 
substantially  in  the  building  up  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God  in  that  great  center,  and  today  stand  valiantly 
on  our  side. 

Meeting  a  Catholic  Priest  on  a  Train. — During  the 
time  of  my  discussions  with  the  Anti-Protestant 
League  there  was  no  name  more  hated  and  denounced 
than  mine,  especially  by  the  Catholic  clergy.  One 
day  while  traveling  to  the  city  of  Nazareth  an  old 
priest  came  into  the  railroad  carriage  in  which  I  was 
traveling.  As  the  only  available  place  to  sit  down  was 
next  to  me,  he  sat  down  by  me  and  ere  long  I  began 
to  chat  with  him.  I  had  heard  about  him  a  good  deal, 
especially  of  his  eccentricities.  A  good  many  interest- 
ing stories  were  told  about  him  and  it  was  generally 
rumored  that  he  had  about  eighty  children,  of  as  many 
women,  who  were  living  all  over  his  parish.  He  was 
a  clever  and  witty  man  and  I  had  a  good  long  talk 
with  him.  I  ventured  finally  to  ask  him  about  the 
discussion  that  was  going  on  in  the  public  press  and 
to  my  surprise  learned  that  he  did  not  know  me  per- 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        141 

sonally.  He  began  attacking  my  name  and  person, 
telinig  some  terrible  yarns  about  me.  He  talked  loudly 
and  as  most  of  the  people  in  the  railroad  carriage 
knew  me,  they  had  a  good  laugh  to  themselves,  which 
the  priest  interpreted  to  mean  he  was  making  a  good 
impression  on  the  hearers  in  his  attack  on  the  hated 
"Solomao."  Finally  1  asked  him  if  he  knew  personally 
that  hated  "Solomao." 

"Oh,  yes,"  said  he,  "I  know  him  well." 

"What  does  he  look  like,"  I  asked. 

"Oh,"  said  he,  "he  is  an  ugly  looking  man,  his  face 
is  eaten  up  by  smallpox  and  by  a  bad  disease.  No- 
body can  be  near  him  for  he  suffers  from  a  disease 
that  drives  people  away.  He  cannot  eat  pork,  for  it 
aggravates  his  sickness."  The  poor  priest  went  on 
like  that  telling  some  of  the  vilest  lies,  which  made 
me  laugh  so  much  that  tears  came  to  my  eyes. 

At  last  I  said,  "Look  here,  Senhor  Padre,  I  also 
know  this  Solomao  and  I  have  seen  him  eat  pork  and 
he  really  is  not  so  ugly  looking  as  you  make  out." 

"Oh,  no,"  he  insisted,  "I  know  him  and  what  I  tell 
you  is  the  truth." 

This  conversation  brought  us  to  the  station  where 
he  was  getting  off  and  in  wishing  him  good-bye  I  told 
him  that  for  a  long  time  I  had  desired  to  meet  and 
know  him  personally,  as  I  had  heard  so  many  in- 
teresting stories  about  him  and  that  now  I  was  per- 
fectly satisfied. 

"And  with  whom  have  I  had  the  honor  to  speak," 
he  asked,  and  you  should  have  seen  his  face  when  I 
told  him  that  I  was  that  hated  "Solomao." 


142        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

"No,  nol"  he  exclaimed  excitedly,  "that  cannot  be; 
Solomao  is  not  such  a  cultured  person  as  you  are." 
But  when  I  assured  him  that  I  was  the  very  one  and 
everyone  else  confirmed  my  assertion  he  left  without 
saying  another  word,  no  doubt  terribly  chagrined  at 
the  ludicrous  mistake  he  had  made. 

Soon  after  that  I  moved  into  the  district  where  this 
priest  was  vicar.  Right  opposite  the  house  where  we 
stayed,  one  of  his  sons  was  living,  whose  children,  the 
grandchildren  of  that  priest,  became  great  friends  of 
my  children.  When  my  daughter,  Arvilla,  organized  a 
Children's  Society,  one  of  the  priest's  grandchildren 
became  the  Secretary  of  the  Society  and  the  other 
grandchildren  charter  members.  Every  time  he  would 
meet  me  on  the  street  he  would  hide  his  face  in  shame 
because  of  what  had  happened  on  the  train. 

Growth  and  Development. — Never  did  the  Cause  of 
the  Master  prosper  so  wonderfully  as  during  those 
years  of  persecution  and  public  discussions.  Every 
step  we  took  was  watched  by  the  members  of  the 
League.  Spies  were  sent  to  our  meeting  places  to 
watch  if  any  prominent  persons  came  to  our  preach- 
ing services  and  the  following  day  that  person  would 
receive  warning  not  to  continue  if  he  wished  to  keep 
well  with  society.  A  good  many  physicians,  lawyers, 
merchants,  etc.,  were  driven  away  from  our  meetings 
by  those  threats,  but  the  Cause  continued  to  prosper 
nevertheless. 

A  Beautiful  Church  Edifice. — One  of  the  great  at- 
tractions was  the  new  church  edifice  that  the  natives 
themselves  built,  helped  with  the  amount  of  $1,500 


i 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        143 

by  the  W.  M.  S.  of  South  Carolina  in  response  to 
appeals  from  Mrs.  W.  E.  Entzminger,  a  sum  not  suf- 
ficient to  pay  for  the  lot  on  which  the  building  is 
standing.  Every  Sunday  morning  the  church  would 
be  crowded  with  believers  and  after  the  meeting  I 
would  ask  them  not  to  return  to  the  night  service,  but 
preach  to  their  neighbors  in  the  suburbs  where  they 
were  living  and  thus  leave  room  for  the  many  out- 
siders that  were  anxious  to  hear  the  Gospel.  At  five 
o'clock  we  would  have  our  Young  People's  meeting 
and  at  six  we  would  go  out  and  invite  outsiders,  using 
handbills  as  well  as  open-air  preaching.  The  hall 
every  Sunday  night  would  be  crowded  to  overflowing. 
I  very  seldom  had  congregations  of  less  than  eight 
hundred  or  a  thousand,  especially  on  the  nights  when 
we  would  baptize  our  candidates. 

The  plans  for  the  church  and  the  supervision  of  the 
work  was  done  by  an  American,  a  Baptist  deacon 
from  Alexander  city,  Ala.,  Bro.  W.  W.  Robinson, 
who  was  then  working  for  an  American  company  in 
Pernambuco.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robinson,  who  stayed 
with  us  for  about  two  years,  were  a  great  help  and 
blessing  both  to  the  Cause  and  to  us  personally. 

Training  Native  Helpers.  —  While  in  the  Campos 
Mission  1893-1900,  I  noticed  the  lack  of 
competent  native  help  and  in  correspondence 
with  dear  Dr.  Willingham,  the  then  corre- 
sponding secretary  of  our  Board  in  Richmond,  I 
suggested  the  setting  apart  of  a  sum  of  money  for  the 
purpose  of  preparing  a  few  young  men  for  the  min- 
istry. I  also  suggested  that,  as  Dr.  J.  J.  Taylor  was 
then  living  in  Sao  Paulo,  he  could  easily  undertake 


144        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

that  kind  of  work  for  which  he  was  so  well  prepared, 
and  the  students  could  also  take  advantage  of  the 
MacKenzie  College  for  the  study  of  other  subjects 
than  theology.  That  suggestion  was  accepted  by  the 
Board  and  Dr.  J.  J.  Taylor  was  given  a  fund  for  the 
purpose  of  preparing,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  four 
young  men.  I  know  that  some  young  men  were  sent 
to  Sao  Paulo  with  that  object  in  view.  The  final  result 
of  that  attempt  I  am  unable  to  tell,  as,  soon  after  that, 
I  was  transferred  to  the  North  and  there  I  asked  for 
the  same  favor  from  our  Board  for  our  Northern  field 

Brother  Jefthe  Hamilton,  realizing  the  same  greai 
need,  promised  to  help.  Mrs.  Ginsburg  was  anxious 
to  do  her  part  and  several  young  men,  some  of  them 
with  a  fairly  good  education,  were  ready  to  teach  as 
well  as  study  in  this  theological  class.  The  class  was 
organized  with  ten  students.  Some  good  work  was 
done,  but  Brother  Hamilton  moved  to  Para  and  I 
was  so  occupied  by  the  evangelistic  work  that  I  could 
not  look  after  the  class. 

Soon  after  this  Brother  W.  H.  Cannada  arrived  on 
the  field  and  before  long  took  hold  of  the  theological 
class.  I  rendered  some  assistance  by  lecturing  to  this 
class.  A  small  Day  School  existed  for  believers  chil- 
dren in  connection  with  the  First  Baptist  Church 
which  Bro.  Cannada  united  with  the  theological  class 
and  moved  into  the  building  in  which  the  present  Train- 
ing School  for  Women  is  now  established.  This  day 
school  and  theological  class  developed  eventually  into 
the  Colegio  Americano  Baptista,  with  its  magnificent 
buildings  and  over  900  pupils. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        145 

When  on  my  furlough  in  the  United  States  in 
1904-'05  1  urged  upon  two  young  men  the  great  need 
of  taking  up  the  Seminary  work  in  Brazil.  One  was 
Dr.  J.  W.  Shepard,  who  soon  after  came  to  Pernam- 
buco  and  after  obtaining  a  knowledge  of  the  language 
moved  to  Rio  de  Janeiro,  where  he  organized  and 
established  the  great  Rio  College  and  Seminary.  The 
other  one  was  the  Rev.  H.  H.  Muirhead,  the  present 
director  of  the  Pemambuco  College  and  Seminary. 
What  a  difference  from  the  days  of  struggle  and  per- 
secution !  Praised  be  the  Lord  for  the  little  part  He 
permitted  me  to  have  in  that  work.  The  seed  sown 
has  certainly  brought  forth  abundant  results. 

Growth  in  the  Suburbs. — Due  to  the  testimony  of 
the  believers  in  their  respective  neighborhoods  the 
work  began  to  spread  into  every  nook  and  corner  ot 
that  great  city  of  200,000  inhabitants.  Mission  sta- 
tions were  organized  in  different  sections  where  now 
we  have  strong  and  prosperous  churches.  In  some 
of  them  the  work  was  not  greatly  hindered  though 
we  had  to  contend  with  the  enemy  in  almost  every- 
one of  them.  The  place  where  the  persecution  was 
severest  was  in  Upitinga.  Very  few  believers  lived  in 
that  suburb.  One  was  a  black  brother,  deacon  of  our 
church,  who  had  a  large  family  and  who  was  highly 
respected  by  everybody  for  his  honesty  and  excellent 
behavior.  Renting  a  front  room  near  the  suburban 
station  we  began  preaching  services  to  which  the 
neijrhbors  came  en  masse. 

The  first  two  nights  everything  went  along  very 
smoothly,  but  the  third  night  brought  a  disagreement. 


146        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

Just  as  I  was  teaching  the  people  a  Portuguese  version 
of  that  beautiful  hymn:  "Siand  up,  8tancl  up  for 
Jesus !"  a  group  of  assassins  boldly  entered.  The  first 
one  had  a  scythe  in  his  hand  and  struck  the  man  that 
was  standing  at  the  door  and  felled  him  to  the  ground. 
Fortunately  he  did  not  kill  him.  The  second  came  in 
on  horseback  having  a  revolver  in  his  hand.  We 
found  the  revolver  case  afterwards  and  why  he  did 
not  shoot  I  cannot  explain  even  now.  The  third  wore 
a  mask.  I  was  told  afterwards  that  he  was  the  station- 
master  himself.  He  had  a  long  sword  in  his  hand  and 
was  making  his  way  straight  for  my  head. 

I  was  sitting  behind  the  little  organ  and  close  to  my 
face  was  a  very  large  lamp  that  a  neighbor  had 
loaned  to  us.  The  bandit  either  mistook  my  head 
for  the  lamp  or  really  wished  to  put  the  light  out 
of  commission.  The  fact  was,  he  struck  the  lamp 
with  his  sword  and  complete  darkness  ensued.  I  was 
wondering  what  would  happen  next,  but  as  quietness 
seemed  to  prevail,  I  struck  a  match  and  found  that 
the  room  was  deserted,  everybody  having  disappeared 
except  the  poor  man  lying  at  the  entrance  with  a  bad 
wound  on  his  head.  That,  however,  was  the  last  per- 
secution that  we  suffered  in  that  neighobrhood.  The 
police  after  that  gave  us  the  ^•cessary  protection  and 
today  we  hav^e  a  splendid  self-s.v.pporting  church  there, 
with  a  well-organized  Sunday  school. 

Great  persecutions  took  place  in  some  of  the  interior 
districts,  but  these  would  be  too  innumerable  to  relate. 
I  will  only  refer  here  to  the  two  outstanding  ones,  and 
to  the  wonderful  way  the  good  Lord  delivered  me 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        147 

out  of  the  hands  of  the  assassin,  due  no  doubt  to  the 
prayers  of  the  Lord's  people.  One  about  my  en- 
counter with  the  most  notorious  bandit  then  roammg 
about  the  State,  Antonio  Silvino  by  name,  and  the 
other  about  the  opening  up  of  our  work  in  Limoeiro. 

My  Encounter  With  a  Bandit,  or  the  Wonderful 
Power  of  Prayer. — After  a  prolonged  three  years'  dis- 
cussion through  the  daily  press  with  the  organized 
forces  of  the  Catholic  Priesthood  in  Pernambuco; 
after  every  effort  had  been  made  to  expel  me  from 
Brazil,  especially  from  the  Pernambuco  field,  where 
the  Lord  was  blessing  us,  a  reactionary  Italian  monk, 
whose  name  was  Celestino,  resolved  to  eliminate  me 
by  assassination. 

In  the  Northern  part  of  the  State  of  Pernambuco 
there  was  a  band  of  bandits  roving  about,  committing 
all  kinds  of  atrocities.  The  chief  was  one  of  the 
most  daring  men  that  ever  appeared  in  Brazil.  His 
name  was  Antonio  Silvino.  A  great  many  crimes 
were  attributed  to  this  band  and  the  Government  had 
offered  a  sum  of  $10,000—40,000  milreis— for  his  ap- 
prehension, dead  or  alive.  The  capture  of  this  man, 
however,  was  very  difficult.  He  had  a  disconcerting 
gift  of  shooting  and  hitting  the  mark,  usually  killing 
the  one  who  dared  to  attack  him.  He  was  also  very 
good  to  the  poor  and  would  share  with  them  much  of 
the  spoil  he  would  obtain  from  the  rich  or  even  Irom 
the  government. 

It  was  to  this  man  that  the  Italian  monk  appealed. 
He  worked  upon  his  credulity  and  superstition,  and 
obtained  his  consent  to  have  me  killed  for  the  sum  of 


148        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

250  milreis  (about  fifty  dollars).  They  found  out  the 
exact  day  1  was  expected  to  visit  the  small  village  of 
Moganga  and  had  the  man  ready  to  waylay  me. 

I  left  the  city  of  Nazareth  at  about  2  o'clock  in 
the  morning.  I  had  one  companion  with  me,  Brother 
Amaro,  a  native  convert  who  went  as  my  guide.  At 
about  5  o'clock  I  saw  a  small,  slender,  but  wiry  look- 
ing man  standing  in  a  field  close  by  the  road  I  had  to 
pass.  In  his  hands  he  held  a  double-barreled  gun  and 
across  his  chest  was  a  long  chain  of  cartridges.  My 
first  thought  was  that  he  was  out  hunting  and,  as  is 
my  usual  custom,  I  stopped  the  horse  and  greeted  him, 
wishing  him  a  good  morning  and  asking  if  he  was 
out  for  a  hunt.  He  did  not  seem  to  care  to  reply,  so  I 
asked  him  if  he  had  caught  anything  that  morning, 
but  he  continued  silent.  So,  putting  the  spurs  to  my 
horse,  I  was  about  to  follow  my  companion  who  had 
ridden  ahead  of  me,  when  a  negro  jumped  out  of  a 
tree  right  in  front  of  my  horse  and  was  trying  to  lay 
hold  of  the  bridle.  The  man  behind  me  shouted  some- 
thing to  him  that  I  could  not  understand,  but  evidently 
the  negro  did,  for  he  jumped  out  of  the  way  and  let 
me  continue  my  journey. 

Soon  after  that  I  passed  through  a  small  village, 
called  Sape,  and  there  I  met  Cocada,  a  heavy  white 
man  whose  flushed  face  bespoke  him  a  member  of  that 
celebrated  bandit  band.  This  one  was  sitting  on  the 
ground  receiving  presents  or  goods  from  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  place.  He  did  not  even  look  up  to  see  who 
was  passing.  At  eight  o*clock  I  reached  the  village 
of  Moganga  where  I  was  to  pass  that  day,  preaching 
and  teaching. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        149 

As  soon  as  I  arrived,  however,  I  could  see  surprise 
stamped  on  the  faces  of  every  one  I  met.  The  poli- 
tical boss  of  the  village,  in  whose  home  I  was  to  stay 
during  my  sojourn  in  the  village,  received  me  with 
evident  joy  and  embraced  me  repeatedly  asking  all 
the  while:  "Did  you  meet  Antonio  Silvino?"  I  told 
him  that  I  did  not  know  him  personally  so  could  not 
say  whether  I  met  him  or  not.  However,  I  told  him 
whom  I  had  met  and  he  informed  me  that  the  first  one, 
with  the  double-barreled  gun  in  his  hands  was  the 
person  in  question. 

He  then  gave  me  the  information  that  he  had  been 
informed  that  this  bandit  had  received  money  to  have 
me  removed  from  the  land  of  the  living.  As  soon  as 
he  had  learned  that  news  he  had  been  trying  to  get  in 
touch  with  me,  but  that  I  had  already  left  the  place 
where  they  expected  to  reach  me  and  therefore  did  not 
know  what  to  do,  but  to  leave  it  to  Providence  as  the 
good  man  put  it.     (He  was  not  a  believer.) 

I  had  a  very  busy  day.  Rejoicing  because  of  my 
escape  from  the  hands  of  the  bandit  I  had  a  glorious 
time  with  the  believers.  Our  public  meeting  began 
about  7:00  P.  M.  and  lasted  until  nearly  midnight. 
We  had  singing  of  hymns,  preaching,  praying  and  a 
testimony  meeting,  as  well  as  acceptation  of  candi- 
dates for  baptism.  Tired  and  almost  exhausted,  as  I 
had  not  slept  the  previous  night,  I  asked  the  native 
brother  to  continue  the  meeting  and  I  went  to  a  small 
room,  back  of  the  front  room  in  the  home  of  the  poli- 
tical boss  and  was  about  ready  to  crawl  into  my  ham- 
mock, when  a  knock  came  at  the  front  door.   There 


ISO        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

was  a  demand  to  open  immediately.  The  owner  of  the 
house  went  to  inquire  who  it  was  disturbing  the  mid- 
night hour  when  he  was  told,  to  his  consternation,  that 
it  was  Antonio  Silvino  and  that  he  wished  to  speak  to 
Sr.  Solomao. 

You  can  imagine  how  my  heart  fell  within  me  as  1 
realized  that  those  were  very  likely  my  last  moments. 
I  had  congratulated  myself  on  having  escaped  the 
bandit  and  here  he  was  in  the  very  home  of  the  poli- 
tical boss  and  right  across  from  the  police  station! 
I  fell  on  my  knees  asking  the  Lord  for  just  one  thing 
and  that  was  to  give  me  the  necessary  strength  to 
give  a  good  testimony.  The  Lord  has  given  me  the 
gift  of  not  fearing  anybody  or  anything,  but  he  also 
gave  me  a  very  sensitive  nature.  I  cannot  bear  the 
sight  of  blood  and  all  my  courage  flees  from  me  when 
I  see  anyone  suffering.  The  only  thing  I  was  afraid 
of  was  to  show  that  fear  in  case  he  was  going  to 
torture  me  and  it  was  for  that  that  I  was  asking 
strength.  Praised  be  His  holy  Name,  He  did  not  fail 
me  I 

As  soon  as  he  was  seated  they  came  and  called  for 
me.  I  told  them  that  I  would  be  out  in  a  moment. 
Coming  into  the  front  room,  a  large,  spacious  room, 
I  saw  the  bandit  sitting  with  bowed  head  on  the  sofa. 
The  political  leader  was  pale  and  trembling  while  his 
wife  and  sister,  two  slender  women  were  wringing 
their  hands  and  weeping  as  if  their  hearts  would  break. 

Walking  up  to  the  man,  feeling  my  heart  strong,  I 
said,  "You  wished  to  see  me ;  what  can  I  do  for  you?" 

"Do  you  know  who  I  am,"  he  asked  me  after  a 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        151 

while,  and  I  answered,  "Yes,  you  are  Captain  Antonio 
Silvino." 

"Do  you  know  why  I  came  here?"  he  then  asked, 
and  I  said,  "Yes,  you  have  been  bought  to  kill  me" ; 
and  he  answered  "E'  verdade !"  ("That  is  true.") 

I  breathed  another  prayer  to  my  heavenly  Father  as 
I  stood  before  this  bandit,  asking  Him  to  help  me  and 
to  take  care  of  my  wife  and  little  ones.  After  a  few 
moments  had  gone  by  without  his  making  any  move, 
I  said,  "Well,  why  don't  you  go  ahead  and  do  it?" 

But  he  did  not  move  and  after  a  few  moments  of 
silence,  I  noticed  that  he  was  wiping  his  eyes,  tears 
trickling  down  his  face. 

Finally  he  said,  "No,  I  won't  kill  you.  I  would 
much  rather  kill  the  person  who  asked  me  to  kill  you. 
I  won't  kill  a  man  like  you.  This  morning  while  I 
was  waiting  for  you  near  the  Sape  village,  you  stopped 
your  horse  and  spoke  to  me  so  gentlemanly  and  kindly 
that  I  was  surprised.  I  had  been  told  that  you  were 
a  dangerous  person,  that  your  doctrines  and  teachings 
were  a  curse  to  the  people  and  to  the  country  and 
that  killing  you  would  be  a  blessing  to  many.  But 
you  spoke  to  me  so  kindly  that  I  determined  to  find 
out  a  little  more  about  you.  I  was  present  while  you 
were  preaching  and  teaching  and  praying  and  singing 
and  I  tell  you  that  I  am  not  going  to  kill  a  man  that 
is  doing  such  good  work." 

We  passed  the  night  .ogether  and  he  told  me  his  life 
story,  one  of  the  saddest  that  I  have  ever  listened  to. 
He  was  not  a  common  criminal.  He  belonged  to  a 
very  wealthy  and  aristocratic  family.    He  himself  is 


152        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

the  owner  of  a  great  tract  of  valuable  land  in  the  State 
of  Parahyba.  But  on  account  of  political  feuds  his 
father,  brothers,  uncles  and  cousins  had  been  exter- 
minated and  to  escape  the  same  fate  he  had  resolved 
to  turn  bandit  and  destroy  not  only  his  political  oppo- 
nents but  all  that  would  dare  to  rise  up  against  him. 
Up  to  the  time  I  had  met  him  he  had  killed  sixty-six 
persons. 

We  talked  and  prayed  together  until  daybreak. 
Ever  after  that  encounter,  this  bandit  became  the  de- 
fender of  our  cause,  in  that  region.  He  would  not 
permit  any  persecution  against  the  Gospel  and  against 
the  preachers.  I  have  no  doubt  that  my  life  was  saved 
several  times  from  destruction  at  the  hands  of  bandits 
on  account  of  the  strict  orders  received  from  this  man. 

Some  time  after  I  went  to  the  Lieutenant-Governor 
of  the  State  and  offered  to  take  this  bandit  out  of 
the  State  and  give  him  a  chance  of  regeneration  on 
condition  that  neither  I  nor  the  bandit  would  be 
molested.  His  excellency,  though  a  great  admirer  of 
the  work  we  were  doing,  did  not  see  his  way  clear  to 
grant  me  this  request. 

Soon  after  I  left  Pernambuco  this  man  was  caught, 
wounded  and  brought  to  the  capital  of  the  State,  where 
he  was  tried  and  condemned  to  the  penitentiary.  In 
prison  his  delight  is  in  reading  the  Bible  and  telling 
the  people,  that  come  to  see  him,  as  well  as  his  fellow- 
prisoners,  what  the  Lord  had  done  for  him.  One  of 
the  editors  of  an  evening  paper  went  to  interview  him 
and  came  back  quite  disgusted: 

"All  you  can  get  out  of  Antonio  Silvino,"  he  wrote, 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        153 

"is  about  the  Baptists  and  the  Bible."  You  will 
always  find  him  with  his  Bible  in  his  hands  reading 
and  praying.  It  is  simply  wonderful  what  the  Lord 
can  do  for  a  poor  degraded  sinner.  The  blood  of 
Jesus  is  still  efficacious  and  saves  unto  the  uttermost 
all  that  come  to  Him  by  faith. 

Now  the  most  remarkable  part  of  this  narrative: 

It  took  me  about  a  month  to  return  home.  I  visited 
several  dangerous  places  and  passed  through  great 
trials  and  difficulties,  but  rejoicing  because  His 
presence  was  with  me  and  His  blessings  multiplied. 

Opening  my  mail  on  my  return  home  I  found  a 
letter  from  a  Young  Women's  Society  of  Americus, 
Georgia.  In  it  the  secretary,  evidently  a  young  lady, 
wrote  me  more  or  less  the  following: 

"Dear  Brother  Ginsburg,  today  is  our  missionary 
day  and  we  have  been  studying  about  you  and  your 
work  and  have  been  offering  special  prayers  to  our 
heavenly  Father  to  bless  you,  keep  and  protect  you 
from  all  danger  and  use  you  mightily  in  His  service." 
Upon  looking  at  the  date  of  the  letter  I  noticed  that 
it  was  the  very  day  I  met  that  celebrated  bandit, 
Antonio  Silvino. 

Our  God  is  a  prayer  hearing  God.  Blessed  be 
His  name ! 

Opening  of  the  Work  in  Limoeiro. — The  city  of 
Limoeiro  is  a  very  strategic  center  in  the  Pernambuco 
field  not  only  because  of  its  population  and  railroad 
facilities  but  also  because  of  its  rich  surrounding  cot- 
ton and  sugar-cane  farms.  A  few  years  previous  to 
our  moving  to  Pernambuco,  Dr.  Entzminger  had  tried 


154        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

to  open  a  mission  station  in  that  city  and  after  renting 
and  furnishing  a  hall  had  sent  one  of  his  native  helpers 
to  inaugurate  the  work.  The  morning  after  the  first 
night's  service  a  group  of  ruffians  broke  into  the  home 
where  the  native  pastor  was  staying,  tied  him  hands 
and  feet  and  placed  him  on  the  train  that  was  about 
to  leave  the  city  and  told  him  in  very  plain  language : 
"This  time  we  let  you  go  this  way,  but  don't  you 
dare  come  back,  for  then  you  will  be  carried  out  in 
quite  a  different  fashion."  The  poor  man  was  so 
frightened  that  you  could  not  get  him  to  look  at  the 
place  even  on  the  map. 

After  our  great  convention  in  1909  when  it  had  been 
resolved  that  I  was  to  move  to  Bahia,  from  whence 
dear  Dr.  Z.  C.  Taylor  was  obliged  to  retire  on  account 
of  failing  health,  I  determined  with  God's  help  to 
establish  the  work  in  Limoeiro.  The  Catholic  element 
in  that  city  had  been  daring  us  to  do  it  and  promising 
a  very  warm  reception,  in  case  we  ever  attempted  to 
venture.  Several  times,  when  passing  through  the 
city,  I  had  been  taunted  about  it  and  I  had  told  some 
of  the  bitterest  foes  that  the  time  would  come  wher 
the  work  would  be  established  and  that  they  would 
receive  due  notice  about  it. 

It  was  a  daring  undertaking  and  I  knew  perfectly 
well  that  I  was  risking  my  life,  but  trusting  in  the 
Lord  and  knowing  that  He  was  abl*  to  care  and  keep 
and  protect  me  as  He  had  done  many  a  time  before,  I 
went  ahead. 

We  rented  a  house  and  furnished  the  front  room 
with  the  necessary  benches,  pulpit,  lights,  etc.,  I  also 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        155 

obtained,  due  to  the  Masonic  brethren,  the  use,  free 
of  charge,  of  the  pubhc  theater  for  my  first  lecture. 
1  left  an  announcement  inviting  the  public  for  the 
following  Sunday  to  the  first  lecture  on  the  subject: 
"The  Objectives  of  the  Evangelical  Propaganda." 

Wednesday  before  that  Sunday  I  received  a  tele- 
gram from  a  friend  advising  me  that  the  local  priest 
and  the  fanatical  Catholics  vi^ere  bringing  into  town 
eighty  bandits  for  the  sole  purpose  of  driving  out,  or 
if  necessary  exterminating  every  Protestant  that 
would  dare  to  preach  his  religion.  I  had  expected  a 
move  like  that  and  I  immediately  took  the  telegram 
to  the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  State,  who  was  a 
personal  friend  of  mine,  having  helped  me  out  of  sev- 
eral difficult  situations.  lie  told  me  to  go  ahead  and 
he  would  see  to  it  that  I  had  sufficient  protection. 

Saturday  I  took  the  train  to  Limoeiro.  Midway, 
at  a  junction  called  Entroncamento  an  officer  of  the 
State  militia,  accompanied  by  a  half-dozen  soldiers, 
met  me  and  placed  themselves  at  my  disposal.  I 
thanked  them  and  asked,  "Why  such  haste  ?  Why  had 
they  not  waited  till  I  reached  the  city?"  The  officer 
then  informed  me  that  the  persecutors  had  witnessed 
the  arrival  of  the  police  force  and  naturally  had  sus- 
pected that  they  had  come  to  keep  order  and  protect 
the  Protestants.  The  persecutors  had  then  instructed 
the  bandits  to  board  the  train  two  stations  before  it 
reached  Limoeiro  and  accomplish  their  object  there. 
The  officer  was  advised  about  that  resolution  and  de- 
termined to  frustrate  it.    He  resolved  to  meet  me  at 


156        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

the  junction  and  sit  down  by  my  side  thus  saving  my 
Hfe  and  those  of  my  companions. 

Sure  enough,  when  the  train  arrived  at  Ilheitas,  just 
two  stations  on  this  side  of  Limeiro,  a  group  of 
suspicious-looking  men  boarded  the  train  and  seemed 
to  be  anxiously  looking  for  me.  Seeing  the  officer 
close  by  me  and  two  soldiers  with  loaded  guns  at  one 
end  of  the  coach  and  another  two  at  the  other  end 
and  several  more  near  by,  they  thought  it  best  to  await 
another  opportunity. 

Reaching  the  city  of  Limoeiro  I  found  lined  up  at 
the  station  platform  sixty  soldiers,  all  fully  equipped 
and  armed  and  no  one  was  allowed  to  approach  the 
railroad  carriage  without  my  permission.  I  felt  im- 
portant for  once  in  my  life.  The  most  surprising  part 
of  it  all  was  the  fact  that  the  sergeant  who  was  de- 
tailed to  watch  me  day  and  night,  was  a  member  of 
the  Nazareth  Baptist  Church,  who,  a  fev/  years  previ- 
ous, while  I  was  preaching  at  an  open-air  meeting 
in  that  city,  had  been  hired  to  kill  me.  As  related 
already  in  the  previous  chapter  to  be  able  to  carry  out 
that  intention  he  tried  to  obtain  a  little  courage  from 
King  Alcohol,  who,  most  naturally,  put  him  to  sleep 
instead.  When  he  awoke  from  his  drunken  stupor, 
the  meeting  was  over  and  a  few  months  afterwards 
being  converted,  informed  the  church  about  that  ex- 
perience. How  that  man  watched  and  cared  for  me 
would  be  impossible  to  describe.  I  know  that,  under 
God,  I  owe  my  life  to  him. 

Sunday  afternoon  I  gave  the  lecture  in  the  theater 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        157 

to  an  enormous  crowd.  The  priest  had  left  the  city 
hoping  that  the  bandits  would  do  the  job  while  he  was 
away.  But  nothing  happened  !  The  meeting  went  off 
splendidly  and  I  invited  the  crowd  to  the  next  meet- 
ing which  was  to  take  place  in  our  own  preaching  hall. 

Monday  evening  I  met  the  priest  at  the  train  and 
invited  him  to  the  meeting  and  he  promised  to  come. 
I  was  preaching  on  that  beautiful  text:  "I  am  not 
ashamed  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  for  it  is  the  power 
of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth." 
The  hall  was  crowded  and  the  priest  was  leaning  in 
at  the  window.  Now  and  again  I  would  appeal  to 
him  asking  him  whether  what  I  was  preaching  was 
not  true?  The  poor  fellow  did  not  know  what  to  do. 
To  approve  of  my  preaching  was  something  he  did 
not  wish  to  do.  To  deny  the  truth  of  what  I  was 
saying  he  could  not  do  since  it  was  a  self-evident  fact. 
He  finally  decided  to  withdraw  from  the  window  and 
turned  round  to  the  people  near  him  exclaiming: 
"Vamos  embora,  mens  filhos !"  (Let  us  go  away,  my 
children.)  But  one  man  shouted  back  to  him  quite  in- 
dignantly: "Eu  nao  sou  filho  de  padre."  (I  am  not 
the  child  of  a  priest !")  To  be  called  a  child  of  a 
priest  is  a  very  degrading  term. 

I  thought  the  priest  had  left  for  good,  but  when 
the  meeting  was  over  and  I  was  ready  to  leave  for 
my  night's  rest,  just  as  I  was  stepping  out  of  the  hall, 
I  saw  the  priest  with  his  group  of  bandits  waiting  for 
me.  Fortunately  the  soldiers  had  not  left  and  it  was 
no  doubt  their  presence  that  saved  me  from  those 
assassins. 


158        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

Suspecting  that  the  priest  was  up  to  some  mischief 
and  anxious  to  know  if  he  was  armed  or  not  I  used  the 
Brazilian  way  of  greeting  and  stepping  up  to  him  I 
greeted  and  embraced  him  and  found  out  that  he  had 
a  big  revolver  sticking  in  his  belt  under  his  cassock 
and  a  large  dagger  on  the  other  side. 

Taking  his  left  arm  in  mine  I  took  him  along  the 
way  I  was  going  and  immediately  he  began  to  insult 
me,  but  I  kept  quiet.  I  could  see  through  his  plan. 
He,  no  doubt,  thought  that  I  would  answer  him  back 
and  thus  give  him  an  opportunity  to  say  that  I  had  in- 
sulted him  and  his  religion  and  justify  the  murder  he 
was  contemplating.  You  can  imagine  how  hard  I 
prayed,  asking  the  Lord  to  keep  my  fist  and  tongue 
quiet. 

Meanwhile  the  bandits  were  trying  to  get  through 
the  wall  made  by  the  believers  round  about  me.  A  bad 
woman  came  very  near  me  and  I  could  see  a  small 
dagger  gleaming  in  her  right  hand.  I  asked  her  what 
she  was  up  to,  and  she  told  me  that  she  belonged  to 
the  priest.  Taking  hold  of  her  with  my  left  hand  I 
told  her  that  she  would  be  safer  on  the  other  side  and 
pushed  her  on  to  the  priest's  side. 

How  I  escaped  assassination  that  night  I  cannot  tell, 
except  that  the  Lord  was  watching  and  delivering  me 
from  the  hands  of  the  assassins.  No  doubt  many  were 
praying  for  me,  not  only  in  Pernambuco  and  at  my 
home,  but  in  the  great  Southland  of  ours.  Our  God 
hears  and  answers  prayer  and  He  knows  how  to  take 
care  of  those  that  trust  in  Him. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        159 

Reaching  a  lamp  post  and  realizing  that  the  poUce 
were  near,  I  withdrew  my  arm  from  that  of  the  priest 
and  told  him:  **You  certainly  tri'^d  your  best  to  pro- 
voke me  to  anger,  but  1  saw  through  your  game.  You 
wanted  me  to  say  something  that  would  justify  you  in 
murdering  me.  But  I  want  you  to  know  this.  When 
I  determined  to  come  to  Limoeiro  I  counted  the  cost 
and  came  ready  to  lay  down  my  life  if  necessary.  The 
same  thing  can  be  said  about  all  of  these  crentes 
(believers).  But  even  if  you  succeed  in  killing  all  of 
us,  that  would  not  stop  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  in 
this  city.  There  are  thousands  and  millions  of  Bap- 
tists in  Brazil  as  well  as  in  the  United  States  of 
America  ready  to  take  my  place  if  I  should  fall  here. 
They  would  gladly  lay  down  their  li-'es,  if  need  be, 
for  Christ's  Kingdom  and  His  glory."    I  then  left  him. 

In  less  than  a  month  a  church  was  organized.  About 
the  end  of  that  month  the  priest  committed  some  in- 
discretion with  a  young  lady  in  the  vestry  of  the 
Catholic  church  and  he  experienced  the  effect  of  the 
Gospel  on  a  city  where  the  citizens  had  been  aroused 
by  the  preaching  of  that  Gospel.  The  people  drove 
him  out  of  town  like  they  would  a  leper.  What  he 
had  tried  to  do  to  me  he  reaped  on  the  day  he  took 
the  train,  for  the  whole  population  turned  out  and 
heaped  upon  him  the  most  shameful  insults, 

A  year  afterwards  Dr.  and  Mrs.  T.  B.  Ray  visited 
the  same  city  and  spoke  in  the  same  theater  and  a 
group  of  the  best  citizens  offered  him  a  special  dinner 
at  the  best  hotel,  thus  manifesting  publicly  their  ap- 
preciation of  the  sending  of  the  Gospel  light  to  that 


160        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

place.  And  today  that  city  and  the  whole  surround- 
ing neighborhood  is  rejoicing  in  God-given  freedom 
coming  from  having  the  Gospel  preached  to  them. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
IN  MANY  PLACES. 

Again  in  Bahia. — It  was  in  October  of  the  year 
1909  that  I  reached  Bahia  for  the  second  time.  There 
were  about  thirty  organized  churches  and  a  great 
many  mission  stations.  The  greatest  drawback  to  the 
work,  at  that  time,  was  the  lack  of  competent  native 
helpers,  especially  trained  workers,  of  whom  there  was 
not  even  one  in  the  entire  Bahia  field. 

But  the  Spirit  of  God  was  working  and  using  the  few 
wonderfully  and  souls  were  being  saved. 

The  first  task  I  undertook  was  to  line  up  the 
churches  and  cultivate  in  them  the  spirit  of  self- 
development  and  self-support.  To  accomplish  this  I 
organized  a  State  Board,  composed  chiefly  of  native 
believers,  and  gave  them  the  task  of  developing  the 
churches  through  their  own  native  pastors,  while  I 
gave  myself  to  the  building  up  of  the  Mission  stations. 

Over  One  Thousand  Souls  in  One  Year. — Nineteen 
hundred  and  eleven  will  always  be  remembered  as  one 
of  the  most  wonderful  years  in  the  Bahia  field. 

Availing  myself  of  the  good-will  of  our  Rio  Col- 
lege and  Seminary  teachers  who  volunteered  to  visit 
our  field  for  the  purpose  of  holding  Bible  institutes 
with  the  workers,  I  invited  Drs.  J.  W.  Shepard  and 
A.  B.  Langston  for  a  week's  special  meetings  in 
Bahia,  making  arrangements  for  the  presence  and 
entertainment  of  all  of  the  native  helpers  of  the  field. 


162        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

Before  the  Bible  Institute  began  we  had  a  workers* 
meeting  and  adopted  as  our  motto  for  the  year :  "One 
Thousand  Souls  for  Christ."  This  objective  gave 
great  impulse  to  the  meetings  as  well  as  to  the  Bible 
Institute  which  was  a  great  success. 

As  soon  as  that  meeting  was  over  we  organized  our 
forces  and  adopted  the  following  program  and  plan 
of  action : 

1.  To  speak  to  some  unsaved  soul  at  least  once 
every  day; 

2.  To  pray  every  day  at  mid-day  for  the  conversion 
of  some  soul  to  whom  we  had  spoken  about  his  salva- 
tion; 

3.  To  give  a  Bible  or  New  Testament  to  every 
neighbor  in  whose  home  no  Bible  or  New  Testament 
was  to  be  found. 

These  resolutions  were  printed  on  cards  that  would 
fit  into  a  small  Bible  and  sent  out  to  all  of  the  workers. 
I  also  took  them  with  me  on  all  of  my  missionary 
trips. 

I  never  traveled  so  much  as  during  that  year.  I 
visited  almost  every  church  and  mission  station  in 
that  great  State  of  Bahia,  holding  special  meetings  and 
organizing  the  forces  for  the  great  campaign.  It  was 
a  great  and  glorious  year!  The  Lord  was  with  us  in 
great  power,  saving  souls  and  bringing  back  those  who 
had  been  drifting  away!  Thousands  of  Bibles  were 
sold  and  many  who  never  before  had  spoken  a  word 
in  public  for  the  Master  were  used  by  Him  to  the 
salvation  of  many. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        163 

The  first  three  months  were  used  for  rallying  the 
forces.  The  second  quarter  we  went  from  place  to 
place  advising  and  training  for  the  campaign.  During 
the  months  of  July,  August  and  September  we  began 
to  draw  in  the  net,  holding  evangelistic  services  all 
over  the  great  field.  By  the  end  of  December  of  that 
memorable  year  we  had  more  than  850  baptisms  re- 
ported and  more  than  150  ex-members  returned  to 
fellowship.  Besides  that  number  we  had  about  250 
couples  who  could  not  be  accepted  into  our  churches 
because  of  their  not  being  legally  married. 

At  our  annual  meeting  held  in  the  city  of  San 
Antonio,  in  January  of  1912,  we  had  great  rejoicing 
and  wonderful  manifestations  of  the  power  of  God. 
Dr.  Entzminger,  editor  of  our  denominational  paper, 
was  present  and  reported  that  he  had  never  before 
witnessed  such  a  meeting  and  listened  to  such  a  won- 
derful report. 

Gun  Shooting  at  Barra  de  Itabapoana. — While  sta- 
tioned in  Bahia,  Bro.  L.  M.  Reno,  the  missionary  in 
charge  of  the  Victoria  Mission,  asked  me  to  look 
after  his  field  while  he  was  away  on  his  furlough  to 
the  United  States.  I  could  not  give  the  mission  much 
of  my  time,  as  I  had  over  forty  churches  and  over  100 
out  stations  to  look  after  in  the  Bahia  field.  All  I 
did  was  to  take  care  of  the  finances  and  advise  the 
native  helpers  mostly  through  correspondence.  How- 
ever, I  attended  the  annual  meeting  at  the  Rio  Novo 
Church,  where  the  Lord's  presence  was  felt  and  souls 
were  converted.  From  there  I  went  to  a  new  preach- 
ing place,  called  Barra  de  Itabapoana,  situated  across 


164        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

the  border  of  the  State  of  Espirito  Santo.  I  was 
entertained  in  the  home  of  the  Chief  of  Pohce  who 
was  the  father  of  one  of  the  members  of  the  Rio 
Novo  Church,  and  husband  of  one  of  several  converts 
I  had  the  privilege  of  baptizing.  Sunday  afternoon 
about  3  P.  M.  the  baptismal  scene  took  place  witnessed 
by  a  great  crowd.  The  preaching  service  was  an- 
nounced for  seven  o'clock.  On  the  previous  night  I 
had  preached  in  the  home  of  one  of  the  converts  where 
a  persecution  had  been  staged  by  a  group  of  fanatics, 
but  the  Chief  had  managed  to  disperse  this  group. 
Rumors  were  afloat  that  a  greater  persecution  was 
being  organized  for  the  Sunday  night  service.  I  never 
pay  much  attention  to  rumors,  knowing  by  experience 
that  the  Lord  will  deliver  in  His  own  good  way  if  He 
so  desires.  Awaiting  the  development  of  affairs  I 
prepared  myself  for  the  work  on  hand. 

The  meeting  began  punctually  at  seven  with  a 
crowded  house.  The  native  pastor  began  the  service 
and  all  went  along  smoothly  until  I  stood  up  to  preach. 
A  shrill  whistle  was  heard  and  I  noticed  that  the 
group  standing  by  the  window  abandoned  the  place. 
One  woman,  a  brave  little  soul,  a  married  daughter 
of  the  Chief,  who,  though  not  a  Christian,  had  warned 
me  of  the  attack  and  begged  me  to  leave  the  place 
before  it  was  too  late,  placed  herself  and  her  two 
little  children  in  front  of  one  of  the  two  windows  and 
dared  the  assassins  to^hoot.  Soon  missiles  and  shots 
began  flying  all  around  the  building,  breaking  every 
window  pane  and  most  of  the  tiles  on  the  roof.  The 
first  shot  seemed  to  have  been  fired  at  me  and  struck 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        165 

the  wall  about  an  inch  above  my  head.  It  buried 
itself  in  the  wall.  Only  one  of  the  converts  was 
wounded  in  a  limb,  though  the  room  was  crowded 
with  believers  and  friends. 

The  most  remarkable  happening  of  that  evening 
was  the  following:  As  soon  as  the  bandits  began 
shooting  the  Chief,  an  elderly  man  of  over  sixty,  left 
the  room  to  remonstrate  with  the  assailants.  Seeing 
him  leave  I  ran  to  the  door,  ready  to  stand  by  him, 
fearing  that  the  bandits  would  injure  him.  But,  I  had 
not  reached  the  door  when  the  youngest  daughter  of 
the  chief,  a  young  lady  of  about  20  or  21,  placed 
herself  against  the  door  and  told  me  that  I  must  not 
leave  the  room.  I  informed  her  that  I  could  not  let 
her  father  stay  outside  alone  facing  a  mob  of  over 
a  hundred  bandits. 

''They  won't  do  anything  to  my  father,"  she  said, 
"they  just  want  you."  I  did  not  see  it  that  way  and 
tried  my  best  to  get  by  her.  The  door  was  one  of 
those  old-fashioned  ones  with  the  upper  part  done  in 
lattice  work.  While  we  were  struggling,  she  trying  to 
keep  the  door  closed,  and  I,  doing  my  best  to  open  it, 
a  ball  came  tearing  through  the  lattice  work  passing 
between  our  two  heads.  Had  it  gone  a  little  more 
to  the  right  or  to  the  left  one  of  us  had  surely  been 
killed.  Oh,  how  wonderful  is  God's  power!  He  cer- 
tainly knows  how  to  protect  His  own. 

Dr.  T.  B.  Ray  Visits  Brazil.— One  of  the  greatest 
blessings  that  came  to  Brazil  in  1910  was  the  visit  of 
our  Foreign  Mission  representative.  Dr.  T.  B.  Ray. 
Never  before  had  Brazil  been  visited  by  any  repre- 


166        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

sentative  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Board.  Many  of 
our  needs  and  appeals  were  not  understood,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  the  members  of  our  Board  were 
unable  to  realize  the  vastness  of  the  field  and  the 
importance  of  our  opportunities.  Then  there  were 
also  very  important  questions  to  be  discussed  with 
the  missionaries.  The  missionary,  like  every  other 
mortal  man,  has  his  own  way  of  looking  at  certain 
problems,  and  likes  to  have  his  own  mode  of  think- 
ing prevail,  even  though  it  does  not  meet  with  the 
approval  of  everybody  else.  In  1910  the  Brazihan 
Baptists  had  a  great  many  problems,  some  very  dif- 
ficult ones  to  solve.  Though  our  secretaries  are  not 
infallible,  nor  invested  with  powers  to  frighten  us 
into  their  way  of  thinking,  and  always  give  us  liberty 
to  carry  out  our  own  plans  and  ways  of  working,  yet 
every  missonary  realized  that  a  visit  of  a  representa- 
tive from  our  Board,  would  be  of  great  help.  Such  a 
representative  would  necessarily  need  a  great  deal  of 
wisdom  and  tact,  not  only  on  account  of  the  opposing 
currents  that  he  would  find  but  also  because  of  the 
Baptist  principles  of  independence  and  self-govern- 
ment that  he  would  have  to  uphold. 

How  well  Dr.  Ray  fulfilled  his  mission  in  that  great 
crisis,  eternity  alone  will  prove.  It  was  certainly 
remarkable  the  way  he  managed  to  show  to  each  and 
every  missionary  his  duty  and  obligation,  satisfying 
every  one  without  infringing  upon  the  individual 
rights  of  any  one.  I  will  not  specify  the  subjects  that 
were  discussed  and  the  resolutions  that  were  adopted 
because  it  is  all  a  matter  of  record.    But  this  I  must 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        167 

say:  Had  it  not  been  for  the  tact  and  the  great  gift 
of  harmonizing  manifested  by  Dr.  Ray  the  great  Rio 
de  Janeiro  College  and  Seminary  would  have  suf- 
fered terribly  and  perhaps  been  crippled  in  its  use- 
fulness for  a  great  many  years.  The  Carroll  Memo- 
rial Publishing  House  also  owes,  under  God,  its  pres- 
ent status  and  worth  to  this  man  of  God,  for  after 
realizing  the  opportunities  of  such  an  enterprise  in 
such  a  great  field,  he  has  been  able  to  counsel  our 
Board  in  Richmond,  the  wisdom  of  placing  it  on  a 
basis  of  greater  usefulness. 

Would  to  God  that  our  brethren  in  the  homeland 
could  see  their  way  clear  to  send  men  like  Dr.  Ray  or 
Dr.  Love  to  visit  the  mission  fields  that  thus  they 
might  obtain  a  personal  insight  into  the  needs  and 
opportunities. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  accompany  Dr.  Ray  as  in- 
terpreter, to  the  various  fields  and  note  the  great  ef- 
fect upon  his  great  heart  and  soul  of  what  he  saw  and 
heard  everywhere  he  went.  Those  were  never-to-be 
forgotten  days.  Not  only  will  the  Brazilian  believers 
never  forget  that  visit,  but  only  eternity  will  reveal 
the  great  results  that  came  from  it. 

In  the  Arroz  Novo  Church,  of  Bahia,  forty-eight 
came  forward  weeping  and  touched  by  the  Spirit  of 
God  after  he  gave  a  stirring  message.  In  the  Espirito 
Santo  field,  young  Almir  Goncalves,  Brother  Reno's 
right-hand  man  and  perhaps  best  native  helper,  de- 
cided to  give  himself  to  the  Lord  after  a  talk  with 
Dr.  Ray.  The  visit  we  made  to  the  President  of  the 
Republic,  where  we  were  so  cordially  received  and 


168        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

which  has  been  of  such  a  wonderful  blessing  to  the 
Cause  of  Christ  in  Brazil,  giving  to  the  Baptists  a 
national  standing  and  character,  will  stand  forth  as 
one  of  the  historical  sign-posts  in  the  history  of  our 
work. 

Escaping  the  Titanic. — In  the  beginning  of  1912  I 
obtained  permission  from  our  Board  to  go  home  for 
a  much  needed  rest.  I  made  my  return  trip  by  way 
of  Europe,  touching  Portugal,  where  I  visited  the 
work  the  Brazilian  Baptists  were  carrying  on  their 
Foreign  Mission  Enterprise  and  attended  to  some  busi- 
ness for  the  Publishing  House. 

I  left  Bahia  about  the  end  of  the  month  of  Febru- 
ary, reaching  Portugal  in  safety.  I  preached  in  the 
cities  of  Lisbon  and  Oporto.  The  Lord  gave  us  a 
few  souls  that  decided  to  follow  the  Master.  One  of 
the  best  results  of  that  visit  to  Portugal  was  a  talk 
I  had  with  dear  Brother  Joseph  Jones,  a  Christian 
gentleman  and  a  staunch  Baptist,  a  member  of  Spur- 
geon's  Tabernacle,  who  was  living  in  Oporto.  He 
imagined  that  the  Southern  Baptists  were  of  the 
hardshell  type  and  was,  therefore,  unwilling  to  join 
in  with  us.  It  was  a  pleasure  to  be  able  to  enlighten 
him  on  our  true  position  and  enlist  his  great  gifts  and 
sympathies  on  behalf  of  our  work  there  to  which  he 
has  proved  himself  a  great  power  and  blessing. 

From  Portugal  I  went  to  London  to  visit  the  Mild- 
may  Mission  to  the  Jews,  my  former  home,  and  some 
old  friends  and  colleagues.  How  my  heart  rejoices 
whenever  I  can  go  back  to  this  great  center  of  work, 
where  so  many  of  God's  ancient  people  are  led  to  the 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        169 

light  and  knowledge  of  the  true  Saviour  and  Christ ! 
Though  most  of  the  old  companions  have  disappeared, 
some  into  eternity,  there  are  still  a  few  that  remind 
me  of  the  times  gone  by  and  with  whom  it  is  a  privi- 
lege to  have  spiritual  communion. 

It  was  while  going  from  Lisbon  to  Southampton 
that  a  very  remarkable  thing  happened  to  me  re- 
minding me  once  more  of  the  loving,  protecting  power 
of  our  heavenly  Father.  No  doubt  many  were  pray- 
ing for  me  both  in  the  homeland  and  in  Brazil  and 
the  good  Lord,  as  is  His  custom,  hears  and  answers 
the  supplications  of  his  loved  ones. 

Just  as  I  was  ready  to  embark  in  Lisbon  on  board 
the  "Avon,"  telegrams  were  posted  telling  of  terrific 
storms  that  were  raging  the  dangerous  bay  of  Biscay. 
Several  steamers  were  reported  as  having  been  lost 
along  the  coast  of  France.  I  confess  that  my  heart 
failed  me  when  the  time  came  for  me  to  take  the  boat, 
as  I  had  had  sufficient  experience  of  stormy  weather 
in  that  very  same  famous  bay  when  I  passed  through 
it  in  1890.  I  had  a  stop-over  ticket  and  could  easily 
delay  my  journey  for  a  week  and  go  on  another  boat. 
I  hesitated  and  finally  took  the  matter  to  the  Lord  in 
prayer.  I  used  to  carry  with  me  the  W.  M.  U.  Prayer 
Calendar  and  every  day  would  look  up  the  subject  for 
prayer  as  well  as  the  text  for  the  day.  Soliciting  light 
and  guidance  from  on  high,  I  looked  up  the  calendar 
and  found  for  that  day  the  following  text,  given  as 
if  in  direct  answer  to  my  inquiries : 

"He  knoweth  thy  walking  through  this  great  wil- 
derness ;  these  forty  years  the  Lord  thy  God  has  been 


170        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

with  thee;  thou  has  lacked  nothing."    Deuter.  7:2. 

Now  notice  what  happened.  I  had  a  fairly  good 
voyage  to  Southampton,  though  the  sea  was  rough 
and  our  boat  was  greatly  harassed.  On  reaching 
London,  where  I  had  previously  secured  a  passage  to 
New  York  on  one  of  the  cheaper  vessels  of  the  White 
Star  line,  I  was  informed,  that  on  account  of  the  coal 
strike,  the  sailings  of  several  of  the  steamers  of  the 
White  Star  line  had  been  suppressed,  and  the  pas- 
sengers would  have  the  privilege  of  changing  their 
boats,  taking  either  the  "Majestic,"  due  to  leave  in  the 
first  week  of  April,  or  the  "Titanic,"  scheduled  for 
the  following  week.  The  desire  to  travel  on  the 
maiden  trip  of  the  "Titanic"  was  great,  but,  having} 
finished  my  business  in  London,  and  being  homesick 
for  wife  and  family  that  I  had  not  seen  for  years,  I 
resolved  to  take  advantage  of  the  first  boat,  and  ar- 
rived home  just  a  day  before  the  terrible  news  of  the 
sinking  of  the  "Titanic"  horrified  the  world.  Had  I 
delayed  in  Portugal  one  week  I  would  have  been 
forced  to  take  the  "Titanic,"  and  only  God  knows 
what  would  have  happened  to  me.  A  brother  to  whom 
I  related  this  incident  told  me  that  the  Lord  would 
have  saved  me  on  the  "Titanic,"  had  I  been  on  board 
that  fated  vessel.  This  might  be  very  true,  but  I  pre- 
fer not  to  have  gone  through  that  terrible  experience. 

In  the  Carroll  Memorial  Publishing  Plant. — One  of 
the  most  interesting  pages  in  the  history  of  our  Bap- 
tist work  in  Brazil  is  that  of  the  printed  page.  Some 
day  some  one  more  capable  will  do  it  justice,  for  in 
this  chapter  it  is  impossible  to  describe  it  as  it  ought 


PLATE    III.      J.    S      CARROLL     MEMORIAL    BAPTIST    PUBLISHING 
HOUSE,  RIO. 


*..  W.   E.    Entzminger,   Editor-in-Chief,   Book   Dept. 

2.  S.  L.  Ginsburg,  Field  Representative. 

3.  S.  L.  Watson,  General  Director. 

4.  J.  S.  Carroll,  In  Whose  Name  the  House  Was  Endowed  by  His  Wif*. 

5.  Entrance  to  Grounds  of  Publishing  House. 

(.  Carroll  Memorial  Baptist  Publishing   House   Grounds,   Rio. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        171 

to  be  done.  However,  a  word  as  to  its  beginnings  in 
Brazil  will  not  be  out  of  place. 

From  the  little  information  on  hand  it  may  be  said 
that  the  first  one  to  establish  a  small  printing  plant 
in  Brazil  was  the  great  missionary,  Dr.  Z.  C.  Taylor. 
He  had  help  in  this  attempt  from  Mrs.  Osborne,  of 
Louisville,  Kentucky,  who  through  the  "Baptist 
Basket"  collected  funds  for  that  object.  That  little 
press  established  in  Brazil  grew  to  a  considerable 
plant  and  printed  some  very  valuable  books  and  thou- 
sands upon  thousands  of  tracts  that  were  distributed 
broadcast  all  over  the  country. 

Another  little  press  was  afterwards  established  in 
Campos,  by  me,  without  any  help  from  anyone.  A 
small  paper  was  edited,  entitled  "Boas  Novas" 
("Good  News"),  which  was  sent  free  to  thousands  of 
persons,  especially  to  those  in  high  places,  as  well  as 
priests.  It  did  an  effective  work,  stirring  up  inquiries 
as  well  as  bitter  opposition  especially  from  the  clerical 
element. 

In  1900,  when  Dr.  Entzminger  moved  to  the  South, 
a  few  missionaries  met  in  Rio  and  combined  upon  a 
unified  paper  and  publishing  enterprise,  selecting 
Brother  Entzminger  as  its  leader.  Both  presses,  that 
of  Bahia  and  Campos,  were  merged  into  one  and 
moved  to  Rio  de  Janeiro.  The  Jornal  Baptista  was 
started  and  has  been  kept  up  as  the  denominational 
voice  ever  since. 

In  1910  during  the  visit  of  Dr.  T.  B.  Ray  to  Brazil, 
the  brethren  decided  to  enlarge  the  publishing  inter- 
prise,  dividing  it  into  three  departments:  The  Edi- 


172        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

torial,  the  Business,  and  the  Colportage  Departments. 
Dr.  Entzminger  was  chosen  as  head  of  the  Editorial 
Department,  and  I  was  invited  to  take  charge  of  the 
Colportage  and  field  work. 

In  1912  was  inaugurated  the  Judson  Centennial 
Campaign  and  the  Publishing  House  received  the 
great  blessing  of  a  gift  of  thirty  thousand  dollars 
made  by  Mrs.  J.  S.  Carroll,  of  Troy,  Alabama,  in 
memory  of  her  deceased  husband.  It  was  a  noble 
gift  and  it  has  helped  us  to  place  the  publishing  enter- 
prise on  a  solid  basis  for  progress  and  usefulness. 

That  in  brief  is  the  historial  beginning  of  our 
Baptist  Press  in  Brazil.  It  was  in  1913  that  I  was 
called  upon  to  give  myself  to  this  department  of  our 
work. 

On  account  of  lack  of  helpers,  for  a  good  part  of 
the  time  I  had  to  do  the  entire  work  of  the  house. 
Dr.  Entzminger,  the  head  of  the  Editorial  Depart- 
ment, left  Brazil  for  his  furlough.  The  Business  Man- 
ager had  not  made  his  appearance  on  the  field  and  so 
I  had  to  take  up  all  the  departments  of  the  house. 
For  many  months  I  had  to  be  Editor,  Business  Man- 
ager as  well  as  Field  Worker.  It  was  no  easy  job, 
considering  the  conditions  we  were  in,  the  lack  of 
machinery,  as  well  as  lack  of  capital. 

I  worked  every  day  from  early  morning  until  late 
at  night,  rising  about  four  and  retiring  at  midnight. 
The  Lord,  however,  helped  and  His  presence  cheered 
me  on.  One  of  the  most  agreeable  things  that  I  re- 
member of  those  days  is  the  hearty  co-operation  of 
nearly  every  man  on  the  field.     Dr.  J.  J.   Taylor, 


1 


i 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        173 

Brethren  D.  L.  Hamilton  and  S.  L.  Watson  helped  on 
the  S.  S.  Literature,  and  everyone  of  the  missionaries 
sent  in  splendid  contributions  to  our  paper.  Brother 
and  Mrs.  Reno  were  indefatigable  in  their  help  with 
the  literature  for  the  children's  papers.  It  was  a  great 
joy  to  work  with  and  for  the  brotherhood. 

Then  came  the  great  gift  of  Mrs.  J.  S.  Carroll 
which  enabled  us  to  move  out  of  the  narrow  quarters 
in  which  we  were  working  and  begin  realizing  the 
great  dream  of  a  Publishing  House  worthy  of  Brazil 
and  the  great  Baptist  hosts.  What  the  final  outcome 
of  it  all  will  be  no  one  can  foresee.  The  Baptists  in 
Brazil  have  the  greatest  opportunity  of  establishing 
one  of  the  greatest  Mission  enterprises  in  the  world. 
As  for  myself  I  hope  to  be  able  to  help  it  on  to  its 
realization. 

Colportage  Work. — One  of  the  branches  of  the 
work  of  the  Field  Secretary  is  the  Colportage  work. 
It  is  really  one  of  the  most  fruitful,  as  well  as  exciting. 
Whenever  I  had  an  opportunity  to  leave  the  Publish- 
ing House  I  would  fill  my  satchel  full  of  Bibles  and 
books  and  sell  them  as  I  went  along,  in  the  trains,  on 
board  the  vessels,  in  the  villages,  cities  as  well  as 
farms.  Endowed  with  a  natural  gift  for  selling  (due 
no  doubt  to  my  Jewish  ancestry),  I  always  managed 
to  sell  all  the  books  I  carried  along,  both  Bibles, 
books,  tracts  or  anything  else.  How  heart-hungry 
the  people  in  Brazil  are  for  the  Word  of  God.  Of 
course  the  Bible  is  the  most  difficult  book  to  sell  be- 
cause the  priests  tell  the  people  that  our  Bibles  are 
false. 


174        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

One  of  the  first  things  I  do  when  I  want  to  sell  a 
Bible  is  to  tell  them  plainly  why  the  priests  prohibit 
the  reading  of  the  Bible,  calling  their  attention  to 
what  the  Bible  teaches  about  the  priests  and  their 
doings.  As  a  general  rule,  the  buyer  will  get  interested 
and  listen  and,  if  he  is  sincere,  will  buy  the  precious 
book  and  read  it  for  his  soul's  salvation.  I  never  give 
away  a  Bible,  for  that  would  only  confirm  them  in 
their  idea  that  our  Bibles  are  what  the  priest  tells 
them.  Oh,  the  wonderful  times  I  have  discussing  the 
doctrines  we  teach  and  the  many  falsehoods  the  priests 
spread  about  Luther  and  the  Protestants  !  But  as  with 
patience  and  tact  one  answers  all  the  questions  and 
finally  sees  a  ray  of  genuine  inquiry  appear  on  the 
face  of  the  inquirer,  what  a  joy  it  is  to  lead  them 
gently  to  the  feet  of  the  Master  and  teach  them  how 
to  get  in  touch  with  Him  who  is  able  to  convict,  con- 
vert and  save ! 

I  wish  I  could  repeat  some  of  the  conversations  I 
have  had  with  people  as  we  traveled  together.  That 
of  course  is  impossible,  as  it  would  fill  all  the  avail- 
able space  in  this  book.  After  thirty  years'  experi- 
ence in  that  kind  of  work  I  can  unhesitatingly  affirm 
that  there  is  nothing  that  satisfies  so  thoroughly  a 
hungry  soul  as  the  Holy  Book  of  God.  Say  what  you 
please  about  Catholics,  but  it  is  the  Word  of  God  that 
they  want.  The  husks  of  ceremonialism  and  tradition 
do  not  satisfy  them  and  never  can  satisfy.  Give  them 
the  Bible,  a  plain  "Thus  saith  the  Lord!"  and  they 
will  open  their  mouths  wide  and  their  hearts  also. 

At  other  times,  however,  one  meets  an  enemy,  or  ? 


i 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        175 

fanatic  or  perhaps  an  interested  Catholic,  whose  busi- 
ness and  Hfe  is  linked  up  with  the  Catholic  church 
(and  only  God  knows  how  many  there  are  in  the 
clutch  of  the  Catholic  machine)  then  you  have  to  look 
out  and  thank  God  if  you  escape  with  a  whole  skin. 
Just  one  example: 

Insulted  by  a  Rich  Farmer. — It  was  in  the  State  of 
Pernambuco.  I  was  traveling  in  a  railroad  coach 
crowded  with  passengers.  Before  offering  the  books 
for  sale  I  distributed  a  small  leaflet  not  only  to  whet 
the  reading  appetite  but  also  to  see  how  many  were 
able  to  read.  A  priest  was  in  the  same  car  and  he 
accepted  the  tract  gratefully  and  so  also  did  all  the 
other  passengers.  As  I  was  returning  to  my  seat, 
one  man,  a  rich  landowner,  whose  son  happened  to 
be  a  leading  politician,  tore  the  tract  in  pieces  and 
threw  them  into  my  face,  saying  in  a  very  provoking 
tone: 

"You  had  better  go  and  plant  sugar-cane  on  my 
farm  than  do  this  kind  of  work." 

Not  losing  my  calmness,  I  answered  him  very 
politely,  but  loud  enough  to  be  heard  by  every  one 
in  the  car: 

"Thank  you,  sir,  for  the  offer  of  a  job  which  I  will 
remember  whenever  I  may  need  it;  but  just  now  you 
see  I  am  pretty  well  occupied  teaching  a  few  necessary 
lessons." 

This  made  him  angry  and  he  began  calling  me  bad 
names  and  using  very  insulting  terms.  I  paid  no  more 
attention  to  him,  but  went  on  speaking  to  the  other 
passengers,  selling  or  rather  explaining  to  them  about 


176        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

the  Bible.  However,  I  noticed  that  some  of  the  pas- 
sengers who  knew  me  went  to  him  and  informed  him 
that  I  was  not  such  an  ignorant  individual  as  he 
imagined  but  the  missionary  in  charge  of  that  field 
and  in  daily  discussion  with  the  Catholic  hierarchy. 
The  poor  man  was  greatly  disturbed  and  could  not 
continue  his  trip  for  very  shame.  At  the  nearest  sta- 
tion he  left  the  carriage  and  thus  left  me  free  to  sell 
every  book  I  had  brought  with  me. 

The  Antidote  for  Spiritual  Blindness. — A  very  in- 
teresting story  was  related  to  me  by  one  of  our  Col- 
porters.  I  always  tell  them  to  be  very  careful  how 
they  approach  a  priest  and  never  provoke  him  to 
anger,  but  be  very  polite  and  civil  to  him.  Very  few 
priests,  however,  know  the  Bible.  They  are  taught 
how  to  answer  all  the  arguments  about  the  Bible,  but 
are  not  allowed  to  read  it.  Rome  knows  the  effect 
such  reading  would  have  upon  a  sincere  soul  and  there- 
fore the  Book  is  not  studied  in  the  Brazilian  Semin- 
aries, except  in  abridged  and  adulterated  forms.  This 
colporter  met  one  day  the  Vatican  Envoy,  as  he  was 
passing  through  one  of  the  streets  of  Rio  de  Janeiro 
in  his  carriage.  He  felt  the  impulse  of  the  Spirit  of 
God  to  offer  Him  a  copy  of  the  Bible.  Stopping  the 
carriage  in  which  the  Envoy  was  reclining  comfort- 
ably, he  looked  into  the  old  man's  face  and  said : 

"Excellency,  will  you  allow  me  to  offer  you  one  of 
the  most  powerful  antidotes  for  spiritual  blindness?" 

"And  what  can  that  be,  my  son?"  asked  the  Envoy. 

Taking  out  of  his  satchel  a  beautiful  copy  of  the 
Bible  he  presented  it  to  the  mian  who  took  hold  of  it. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        177 

looked  through  its  pages  and  then  very  gently  re- 
turned it  to  the  Colporter  saying: 

"Thank  you,  my  son;  I  have  a  copy  of  the  same 
book  in  my  home  and  I  can  assure  you  that  I  use  it 
very  often  myself  and  it  has  helped  me  wonderfully." 

The  Colporter  left  the  carriage  delighted  with  the 
conversation. 

I  could  naturally  go  on  filling  these  pages  with 
similar  stories  and  experiences,  but  must  hasten  on. 

Work  Among  Prisoners. — I  believe  that  the  Lord 
put  me  in  prison  for  ten  long  days,  as  related  above, 
just  to  get  me  interested  in  the  sad  conditions  of  the 
poor  prisoners  in  Brazil.  During  the  ten  days  I  was 
kept  incommunicable  I  tried  my  very  best  to  obtain 
a  book  or  a  copy  of  a  paper  to  read,  but  nothing  could 
be  found  in  the  prison,  though  there  must  have  been 
nearly  five  hundred  prisoners  in  that  establishment. 
I  then  and  there  resolved  to  do  something  for  the 
prisoners,  if  ever  I  had  an  opportunity. 

That  opportunity  came  when  I  joined  the  forces  of 
the  Publishing  House  and  a  blessed  experience  it  has 
been  to  me  as  well  as  a  great  source  of  blessing  to  the 
Publishing  House.  Many  a  hungry  and  sinsick  soul, 
lying  in  darkness  and  misery  and  spiritual  death,  has 
thanked  God  for  that  blessed  thought.  Today  we  are 
supplying,  with  the  help  of  nearly  every  Baptist  in 
Brazil,  about  seven  hundred  and  fifty  prisons  with  our 
weekly  paper,  and  S.  S.  Literature.  We  have  also 
a  special  fund  for  sending  copies  of  the  Bible  and 
New  Testaments  and  Hymn  books  to  the  prisoners. 

In  many  of  the  State  prisons  regular  Bible  classes 


178        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

are  held  every  Sunday  where  our  literature  is  used 
and  where  the  blessed  results  in  changed  lives  have 
been  a  surprise  to  the  authorities.  The  Director  of 
the  Bahia  Penitentiary  declared  in  his  annual  report 
to  the  Governor  that  the  work  done  by  the  Baptists 
in  his  establishment  is  telling  wonderfully  upon  the 
behaviour  of  the  prisoners.  Oh,  the  wonderful  letters 
that  have  come  to  us  from  all  over  the  country  from 
these  dungeons  of  sin  and  misery  untold!  Yes,  the 
blood  of  the  Lord  Jesus  is  still  powerful  to  save  and 
His  word,  a  mighty  agent  that  convinces  and  convict*" 
as  well  as  heals  and  consoles. 

Just  a  few  illustrations: 

Plea  of  a  Father  in  Prison. — One  poor  father  who 
is  separated  from  his  loved  ones  for  a  good  many 
years,  in  prison  for  a  crime  that  will  keep  him  for  a 
good  many  years  to  come,  wrote  me  begging  me  to 
send  the  paper  and  the  Bible  to  his  loved  ones,  saying, 
in  very  touching  language: 

"Senhor  Solomon,  please  send  your  paper  and  a 
copy  of  the  Holy  Book  to  my  loved  ones.  I  have  a 
wife  and  two  children  and  I  do  not  want  them  to  come 
to  this  place." 

We  sent  the  New  Testament  and  a  copy  of  our 
weekly  paper.  W^e  have  had  very  good  news  from 
both  the  prisoner  and  his  family. 

Conversion  of  a  Farmer. — A  well-to-do  farmer  had 
a  quarrel  with  a  political  boss  of  his  place  and  it  was 
not  long  after  that  a  false  charge  was  brought  against 
the  farmer  and  he  was  taken  to  jail.  The  local  con- 
gregation was  supplying  that  jail  with  a  copy  of  our 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        179 

wccKiy  paper  as  well  as  copies  of  the  Gospels.  This 
farmer  finding  his  time  heavy  on  his  hands  looked 
about  for  something  to  read.  In  the  waste  box  or  can 
he  saw  a  piece  of  white  paper.  He  pulled  it  out  of  the 
can,  and,  not  having  anything  else  to  do,  began  read- 
ing it. 

He  had  never  before  heard  a  Gospel  sermon,  though 
he  had  heard  something  about  the  Protestants.  The 
paper  he  extracted  from  the  basket  was  a  copy  of 
the  "]ormi\  Baptista,"  our  weekly  religious  paper  pub- 
lished in  Rio.  After  reading  the  paper  through  and 
liking  the  articles  he  began  to  search  for  more  and 
found  in  the  same  can  a  copy  of  the  Gospel  of  Saint 
Mark. 

The  Catholics  are  taught  by  the  priests  that  Saint 
Mark  is  a  very  powerful  saint  with  the  devil,  and  is 
capable  of  making  the  evil  one  obedient  to  his  bidding. 
Imagine  the  delight  of  the  farmer  in  finding  such  a 
valuable  little  book.  But  he  was  soon  disillusioned. 
Instead  of  the  false  teachings  and  worthless  supersti- 
tions he  found  the  wonderful  story  of  the  Life  of 
Christ.  He  read  the  Gospel  several  times  and  soon  the 
teaching  of  Christ  gripped  him. 

The  Sunday  following  the  believers  visiting  the  jail 
brought  a  new  copv  of  the  paper  and  he  informed 
them  the  good  thaf"  'le  reading  had  done  him.  Not  to 
prolong  this  story  wish  to  state  that  the  man  was 
released  and  his  first  visit  was  to  the  house  of  God. 
Soon  he  made  his  public  profession  of  faith  and  when 
last  I  saw  him  he  was  the  deacon  of  the  church  re- 
joicing not  only  in  his  Lord  and  Saviour,  but  also 


180        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

in  the  salvation  of  his  loved  ones,  who  had  joined  the 
same  church.  To  the  building  of  the  beautiful  new 
house  of  worship  in  that  city,  he  was  one  of  the  lead- 
ing contributors. 

A  Bible  Class  in  the  Bahia  Penitentiary. — In  the 
Bahia  Penitentiary  there  is  held  a  Sunday  school  and 
Bible  class  every  Sunday  afternoon.  There  are  about 
thirty-five  that  come  together  to  study  the  Bible,  sing 
hymns  and  pray.  Every  time  I  pass  through  the  city 
of  Bahia  it  is  one  of  my  great  privileges  to  preach 
to  the  prisoners  in  that  penitentiary,  of  whom  there 
are  about  350.  W'e  never  baptize  any  that  profess 
conversion  until  they  complete  their  sentence  and  are 
released  and  then  if  they  come  and  present  themselves 
to  the  church,  making  a  public  profession  of  their 
faith,  they  are  baptized.  One  of  these  men  completed 
his  time  and  presented  himself  to  the  church,  where 
he  was  received,  having  given  an  excellent  testimony 
as  to  his  change  of  hfe.  We  found  him  a  job  and 
the  first  money  he  made  he  sent  it  to  me  and  wrote 
the  following: 

"Please  convert  this  amount  into  New  Testaments 
and  send  them  to  my  father.  I  am  going  back  home 
to  tell  my  people  and  old  chums  what  the  Lord  has 
done  for  me." 

That  man  walked  on  foot  from  the  city  of  Bahia  to 
his  home  town,  a  distance  of  about  one  hundred 
leagues  (three  hundred  miles),  just  to  tell  them  of  the 
Lord's  mercy,  love  and  compassion  for  his  soul. 

And  so  I  might  continue  through  a  great  many 
pages  relating  such  interesting  incidents.    The  letters 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        181 

that  come  to  the  Publishing  House  from  all  over 
Brazil  are  numerous  and  very  touching.  It  is  a  great 
work  and  the  Lord  is  using  it  greatly  to  His  honor 
and  glory. 

God's  Blessing  Upon  Our  Press. — Just  a  few  illus- 
trations of  what  tiny  leaflets,  copies  of  our  weekly 
paper  or  the  promiscuous  distribution  of  tracts,  has 
accomplished  in  the  regeneration  of  Brazil. 

That  is  one  thing  our  native  converts  love  to  do, 
viz. :  distribute  tracts.  Some  of  our  churches  have 
special  funds  for  that  purpose  and,  every  Sunday, 
hundreds  of  tracts  are  handed  over  to  the  members 
who  use  them  in  every  way  imaginable,  as  they  go 
to  their  work  in  railroad  carriages,  or  street  cars,  in 
the  work  shop  or  in  the  Government  offices.  A  good 
many  business  men  will  slip  a  tract  into  the  bundle  of 
goods  and  will  even  wrap  up  bundles  in  copies  of  our 
weekly  paper  so  that  the  Gospel  message  may  be  read 
by  some  one  in  the  home.  In  the  Campos  Mission  the 
believers  organized  a  tract  distribution  society  offer- 
ing as  a  premium  a  book  to  anyone  proving  to  having 
read  ten  leaflets.  This  society  was  maintained  through 
the  free  will  offering  of  believers. 

Saved  From  Suicide. — Jose  Domingues  was  a  bad 
character.  Having  married  money  he  squandered 
everything  he  had,  by  gambling,  drinking  and  with 
bad  women.  This  brought  him  to  poverty  and  dis- 
grace. One  day,  disgusted  with  himself  and  the  lite 
he  was  leading,  bankrupt,  with  a  life  in  jail  staring 
him  in  the  face,  he  looked  for  his  revolver  in  one  of 
the  drawers  of  his  desk.     A  small  leaflet,  that  had 


182        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

been  handed  to  him  while  he  was  passing  through  the 
street  and  that  he  had  thrown  into  the  drawer,  stared 
him  in  the  face.  Its  title  printed  in  bold  type,  '*Como 
Orar"  (How  to  Pray)  challenged  his  attention.  For- 
getting the  object  of  his  search  he  sat  down  and  read 
that  small,  four-paged  leaflet.  It  was  a  revelation  to 
him.  After  reading  it  over  several  times  he  fell  on  his 
knees  and  with  tears  streaming  down  his  face  he 
pleaded  for  pardon  and  peace.  Jose  became  a  great 
spiritual  power  in  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  the  Bahia 
District.  Many  a  soul  was  "led  to  the  feet  of  the 
Master  through  the  testimony  often  given  with 
repentant  tears  streaming  down  the  face  of  this  dear 
man  of  God. 

Fruit  After  Twenty  Years. — One  little  leaflet  that 
has  been  extensively  used  of  God  was  written  by  an 
ex-priest,  the  first  native  convert  that  came  into  our 
first  Baptist  organization  in  Brazil.  Its  title  was 
"Three  Reasons  Why  I  Left  the  Church  of  Rome." 
It  is  very  popular  among  all  denominations  and  has 
been  instrumental  in  bringing  about  the  conversion  of 
many  souls.  Thousands,  if  not  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  these  tracts  have  been  printed  and  scattered 
broadcast  all  over  the  country.  As  the  missionaries  go 
up  and  down  the  land  they  come  upon  remarkable 
results  from  some  of  these  tracts.  Here  I  give  one 
related  to  me  by  our  missionary,  D.  F.  Crosland,  of 
the  Minas  field. 

He  was  trying  to  reach  a  certain  village  one  late 
afternoon,  but  providentially  missed  the  road.  Too 
late  to  return  to  the  place  he  had  left,  he  resolved  to 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        183 

find  a  night's  lodging  at  a  neighboring  farm.  The 
inhabitants  in  the  State  of  Minas  are  known  to  be  very 
fanatical  and  he  advised  his  companion  to  be  very 
careful  as  to  their  testimony  and  conversation. 

On  reaching  a  farm,  he  asked  for  a  night's  lodging 
for  himself  and  companions  and  they  were  heartily 
received.  The  Brazilians  are  very  hospitable,  and  are 
usually  glad  to  receive  visitors.  Soon  the  farmer 
began  to  inquire  of  Brother  Crosland  as  to  his  life 
and  business.  He  informed  the  man  that  he  was  a 
Protestant  preacher.  A  joyous,  happy  and  anxious 
countenance  stared  into  Brother  Crosland's  face  as 
the  farmer  in  a  trembling  voice  asked : 

"Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  are  a  preacher  of  the 
Holy  Book  of  God?" 

Brother  Crosland,  surprised  and  thinking  the  man 
was  about  ready  to  drive  them  out,  answered  in  the 
affirmative. 

Then  the  man  laid  hold  of  Brother  Crosland's 
shoulder  and  asked  him  in  an  anxious  and  yet  yearn- 
ing tone : 

"And  have  you  got  God's  book  with  you?" 

For  an  answer  Brother  Crosland  opened  his  suit- 
case and  showed  him  not  only  one  Bible  but  a  good 
many  Bibles. 

"At  last,  at  last !"  shouted  the  man  as  tears  came 
streaming  down  his  happy  face.  "For  twenty  years  I 
have  been  seeking  and  longing  for  this  book  and 
praised  be  the  Name  of  the  Lord  He  has  given  it 
to  me  at  last." 

He  then  ran  into  his  bedroom  and  out  of  a  chest  in 


184        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

which  he  kept  locked  his  treasures  and  valuable  docu- 
ments he  brought  forth  a  copy  of  that  little  tract: 
"Three  Reasons  Why  I  Left  the  Church  of  Rome," 
and  told  Brother  Crosland  the  following: 

"Twenty  years  ago  I  went  to  Diamantina,  a  distance 
of  about  sixty  leagues  (one  hundred  and  eighty  miles) 
to  sell  some  cattle.  While  standing  in  the  market 
place  a  foreigner  gave  me  that  tract.  I  put  it  in  my 
pocket  and  on  my  return  home  began  reading  it. 
The  tract  stirred  my  heart.  What  troubled  me  most 
were  the  references  to  the  Bible.  I  wanted  to  verify 
the  texts,  but  had  no  copy  and  did  not  know  where 
to  obtain  one.  I  searched  everywhere  and  asked  of 
everybody,  but  no  one  had  a  copy  of  the  Bible. 
Finally  I  went  to  the  priest  and  asked  him  to  loan  me 
his  Bible,  but  he  also  had  none.  And  so  I  have  been 
hungering  and  longing  for  a  Bible.  This  tract  I  have 
read  to  almost  every  person  in  the  neighborhood  and 
all  are  anxiously  awaiting  the  arrival  of  a  Bible." 

Brother  Crosland  remained  in  the  home  of  that 
farmer  for  some  time  and  today  a  great  spiritual 
organization  exists  there  and  Bibles  enough  to  satisfy 
the  hunger  and  thirst  of  hundreds  of  souls. 

Organizing  Churches  and  Missions. — The  far  west 
of  Brazil,  like  our  own  far  west  of  former  times,  at- 
tracted men  and  women  from  all  over  Brazil.  Some 
believers,  persecuted  on  account  of  their  faith,  had 
to  move  into  the  far  west  and  wherever  they  went 
their  life  and  behaviour  would  tell  and  ere  long  small 
groups  of  interested  persons  would  gather  together 
for  the  study  of  the  Word  of  God. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        185 

Such  a  group  existed  in  the  city  of  Corumba,  State 
of  Matto  Grosso,  the  most  important  commercial  cen- 
ter of  that  great  State.  This  group  was  anxious  to 
organize  themselves  into  a  church,  but  did  not  know 
what  denomination  to  join.  Some  had  come  from  the 
State  of  Rio  Grande  do  Sul  where  the  Episcopalians 
lead  in  the  evangelical  work.  Others  had  been  in 
touch  with  Presbyterianism.  They  did  not  know  what 
to  do.  One  of  the  Baptists  present  ventured  to  call 
their  attention  to  an  article  published  in  the  Jornal 
Baptista,  our  weekly  paper  printed  and  edited  in  Rio. 
In  that  article  an  outline  of  our  faith  and  practice  was 
given  in  very  simple  language.  They  read  it,  prayea 
about  it  and  finally  resolved  to  telegraph  to  the  editor 
and  ask  him  to  visit  them  at  their  expense  and  help 
them  organize  into  a  Christian  organization.  Brother 
Entzminger,  the  editor  of  the  paper,  not  being  able 
to  go,  called  on  Brother  A.  B.  Deter  to  make  the  trip. 
He  remained  with  those  people  for  a  month,  taught 
them  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Christ  Jesus ;  baptized  over 
fifty  adults ;  organized  them  into  a  Baptist  organiza- 
tion, and  returned  to  his  work  in  Sao  Paulo,  gloriously 
elated.  The  work  has  continued  since  then  to  grow 
and  to  prosper  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  is  today  one 
of  the  most  prosperous  mission  fields  in  Brazil,  with 
Brother  Jackson  as  director. 

Revolutionizing  Rio  de  Janeiro. — That  is  what  a 
little  tract,  written  by  an  ex-priest,  accomplished  in 
1919.  It  was  the  talk  of  the  Metropolis  and  stirred 
the  Catholic  hierarchy  as  nothing  else  had  done. 

The  priest  who  wrote  the  tract  was   one  of  the 


186        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

most  noted  in  Brazil.  He  belonged  to  the  seven  of 
the  secret  council  working  under  the  Vatican  Envoy. 
His  name  had  been  sent  to  Rome  as  a  candidate  for  a 
Bishopric.  Suddenly  he  abandoned  all,  and  marry- 
ing the  young  lady  of  his  heart,  he  gave  himself  to 
teaching  for  support.  Persecuted  by  the  hierarchy  he 
was  driven  to  the  feet  of  Jesus  and  made  a  wonderful 
public  profession  of  his  faith  before  an  assembly  of 
thousands  of  spectators.  Eloquent,  cultured,  a  pro- 
found student  of  the  Bible  as  well  as  of  history,  he 
stated  his  reasons  for  accepting  the  Lord  Jesus  and 
rejecting  the  Pope. 

I  asked  his  permission  to  publish  that  speech  in 
tract  form,  and  printed  fifty  thousand  as  a  first  edi- 
tion. I  stereotyped  the  tract  and  continued  to  print 
them  by  the  thousands. 

Anxious  to  place  it  into  the  hands  of  the  public  I 
spoke  to  a  man,  whose  occupation  is  to  sell  novelties 
in  the  central  streets  of  the  great  city  of  Rio  de 
Janeiro.  He  employed  a  group  of  young  men  to  board 
all  the  street  cars,  meet  all  trains  and  station  them- 
selves at  all  the  principal  public  squares  of  the  city. 
I  told  him  to  have  his  boys  shout  all  over  the  to*.vn! 
"The  Defense  of  an  Excommunicated  Priest."  A  few 
days  before  that  the  Cardinal  had  published  the  ex- 
communication of  that  priest  in  the  daily  press.  The 
tract  was  the  talk  of  the  day.  That  man  sold  in  one 
week  fifty-five  thousand  copies. 

The  Cardinal  tried  to  stop  its  sale  and  had  the 
man  come  to  his  palace.  He  offered  him  two  hundred 
mil  reis  (about  $50.00)  if  he  would  stop  the  sale  of 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        187 

those  tracts.  But  the  man  told  him  that  he  was  mak- 
ing a  great  deal  more  out  of  the  sale  of  the  tract. 
Finally  he  agreed  to  stop  selling  it  if  he  would  give 
him  two  thousand  mil  reis  ($500.00).  I  understand 
that  the  Cardinal  gave  him  the  sum,  but  more  than 
60,000  copies  of  that  tract  had  been  sold  in  one  week 
and  who  can  tell  what  such  an  abundant  seed-sowing 
will  bring  forth  ? 

A  Tract  Changed  His  Sermon. — There  was  a  priest 
known  nation-wide  who  was  usually  called  upon  to 
give  a  series  of  sermons  in  places  where  the  Catholic 
faith  was  seriously  attacked.  One  of  these  lectures  or 
sermons  was  against  the  Evangelical  faith. 

In  the  struggle  against  the  Anti-Protestant  League 
during  1901  up  to  1905  the  Evangelicals  were  getting 
the  victory,  and  as  a  last  resort  the  League  arranged 
with  that  priest — Julio  Maria  by  name,  to  deliver  his 
series  of  sermons,  the  last  one  to  be  the  one  attacking 
the  Gospel  faith. 

On  his  way  to  Pemambuco  the  priest  stopped  in 
Maceio,  where  our  dear  Brother  J.  E.  Hamilton  was 
working  and  while  there  he  delivered  four  of  his 
sermons.  I  asked  Brother  Hamilton  to  let  me  know 
the  theme  and  the  way  of  attack  in  his  sermon  against 
the  Evangelicals. 

Brother  Hamilton  informed  me  that  the  priest  used 
in  that  sermon  the  most  violent  language,  declaring 
that  the  Protestants  were  of  the  lowest  and  most 
ignorant  classes,  etc. 


188        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

As  soon  as  I  found  out  the  exact  date  the  priest 
was  to  give  his  sermon  against  us,  I  published  in  the 
daily  press  an  article  or  rather  pamphlet  written  by 
Brother  Z.  C.  Taylor,  in  which  was  enumerated  some 
of  the  things  that  the  Protestants  had  invented  in  the 
last  decade  or  so.  The  printing  press,  the  telegraph, 
and  telephones,  the  autos  and  aeroplanes,  and  finished 
by  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  plates  out  of 
which  the  priests  were  eating  came  from  Protestant 
England,  the  cloth  with  which  he  covered  his  body 
was  made  in  Protestant  factories  and  even  the  razor 
with  which  he  shaved  the  crown  df  his  head  came 
from  a  Protestant  firm. 

I  issued  five  thousand  copies  of  that  article  in  tract 
form  that  were  distributed  over  the  city.  Five  hun- 
dred of  these  tracts  I  distributed  at  the  door  of  the 
church  where  the  priest  was  to  make  his  speech. 

Availing  myself  of  the  company  of  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  of  the  State  I  went  to  hear  the  priest  make 
his  attack  against  the  Protestants.  To  my  surprise, 
a  better  sermon  in  favor  of  Protestantism  I  could  not 
have  made  myself.  He  extolled  Lincoln  and  Wash- 
ington and  drew  attention  to  the  example  of  the 
great  American  nation,  the  country  of  liberty,  peace 
and  prosperity. 

The  tract  made  him  change  his  sermon  and  the 
effect  of  that  little  leaflet  can  be  seen  even  now  in  the 
wonderful  development  the  work  of  our  Lord  is  hav- 
ing in  that  great  Pcrnambuco  field. 

Thank  God  for  the  printed  page  and  especially  may 
the  Lord's  choicest  blessing  rest  upon  those  who  have 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        189 

helped  with  their  prayers  and  sacrifices  in  establishing 
in  Rio  that  great  publishing-  enterprise,  the  Carroll 
Memorial  Publishing  House,  for  that  vast  and  wonder- 
ful field. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
RECRUITING  FOR  THE  MASTER. 

The  Missionary's  Joy. — One  of  the  great  joys  of  a 
missionary's  life  is  to  lead  many  to  the  feet  of  the 
Master.  But  his  joy  increases  when  one  of  his  boys 
or  girls  becomes  a  worker  in  the  Lord's  vineyard. 
Naturally  the  missionary  has  to  be  on  the  lookout  for 
such  and  lead  them  with  care  and  caution  into  the 
road  of  usefulness  and  needed  instruction. 

As  a  rule,  the  Brazilian  convert  is  a  natural  bom 
evangelist.  Usually  when  the  Gospel  message  enters 
his  heart  and  life  he  wants  to  tell  everybody  of  his 
new  found  faith  and  blessing.  Sometimes  it  is  even 
difficult  to  hold  him  back  and  make  him  understand 
the  need  of  study  and  preparation.  Having  been  de- 
luded by  the  priesthood,  kept  in  utter  darkness  as  re- 
gards God  and  His  great  love,  as  soon  as  the  convert 
has  his  eyes  opened  to  the  truth,  he  cannot  keep  still. 
He  wants  to  proclaim  it  to  everyone  he  meets,  espe- 
cially to  his  own  loved  ones.  It  is  easy  to  see  how 
such  devotion  can  be  used  for  the  spreading  of  the 
Gospel  throughout  the  field  if  it  is  well  directed  and 
cultivated. 

Fortunately  we  have  now  in  Brazil  institutions 
where  young  men  and  young  women  can  be  trained  in 
the  Master's  service  and  prepared  for  greater  useful- 
ness. Every  missionary  on  the  field  has  had  the 
privilege  of  guiding  not  a  few  into  those  great  in- 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        191 

stitutions  from  which,  after  a  few  years  of  study, 
they  have  come  prepared  to  accomplish  much  for  the 
Master. 

I  want  to  mention  a  few  that  are  today  making 
history  in  our  Baptists  ranks  in  Brazil  and  whom  it 
was  my  privilege,  not  only  to  lead  to  the  feet  of  the 
Master,  but  also  into  the  paths  of  usefulness  and 
service.  These  cases  will  illustrate  a  good  deal  about 
the  methods  of  work  we  are  using  as  well  as  encourage 
us  to  look  for  a  marvelous  future  for  the  Baptists 
in  that  wonderful  South  American  Republic. 

Joaquim  Fernandes  Lessa,  State  Secretary. — It  was 
soon  after  my  arrival  in  Campos  in  1893.  We  were 
having  our  meetings  in  an  upstairs  hall  and  it  was 
difficult  to  get  the  people  to  come  to  the  meetings,  not 
only  on  account  of  the  inconvenience  of  climbing  up 
a  flight  of  back-stair  steps,  but  also  because  the  priest 
had  it  spread  all  over  town  that  the  Protestants  used 
a  certain  substance,  powder  or  ointment  which  they 
placed  on  the  benches  or  chairs  with  the  result  that 
anyone  sitting  in  one  of  them  had  to  turn  Protestant 
whether  he  wished  it  or  not.  This  report  kept  the 
people  from  the  meetings.  So  I  decided  that  the  best 
thing  to  do  was  to  hold  open-air  services  on  the  public 
square.  There  we  had  large  crowds  who  came  and 
listened  attentively.  But  as  soon  as  the  Vicar  found 
out  what  was  being  done  he  had  the  sexton  of  the 
church  situated  on  the  public  square  to  ring  the  big 
brass  bell  whose  noise  literally  drowned  my  voice  and 
what  I  had  to  say. 


192        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

One  Sunday  afternoon  I  was  in  the  midst  of  one 
of  my  addresses  and  had  the  attention  of  a  great 
crowd  when,  lo,  that  big  brass  bell  began  to  pour  forth 
its  metallic  noise  and  1  had  to  stop.  The  people  sur- 
rounding me  showed  signs  of  impatience  and  I  re- 
solved to  invite  them  all  to  the  hall  to  hear  the  last 
part  of  my  speech.  Many  came  and  among  them  was 
Joaquim  Lessa.  He  interested  me  as  soon  as  I  laid 
my  eyes  on  him  and  I  asked  the  Lord  to  favor  him 
with  a  special  blessing  that  day.  I  had  a  good  long 
talk  with  him.  He  was  a  prosperous  young  business 
man  belonging  to  a  well-known  family.  His  heart 
was  touched  and  his  soul  was  yearning  for  a  better 
life.  It  was  not  long  after  that  meeting  that  he  de- 
cided for  Christ,  made  his  public  profession  of  faith 
and  was  ready  for  baptism.  Then  began  his  great 
struggle. 

The  church  had  no  baptistry  and  all  candidates  were 
baptized  in  the  river  Parahyba  do  Sul,  one  of  the 
largest  in  South  Brazil.  Every  time  a  baptism  was 
to  take  place  I  used  to  announce  it  in  the  paper  and 
thousands  of  people,  including  priests,  would  come  to 
the  river  to  witness  the  baptismal  scene.  This  gave 
me  a  splendid  opportunity  to  explain  the  act  as  well  as 
to  preach  to  the  multitude  the  everlasting  gospel.  To 
be  baptized  before  a  crowd  like  that  required  great 
courage  and  determination  especially  in  those  who 
were  related  to  the  aristocracy  in  town.  The  parents 
and  relatives  whenever  knowing  of  the  candidates*  in- 
tentions would  try  their  utmost  to  keep  them  from 


PLATE   IV. 


1.  A,   O.   Bernardo. 

2.  Thomaz  da  Costa. 

3.  CoTlndjba   de    Caryalho. 

4.  Z.  C.  Taylor. 


5.  Manoel   Avelino. 

6.  Dr.   Nogtieira    Paranagua. 

7.  F.    F.    Soren. 

8.  Theodora    Telxelra. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        193 

fulfilling  their  duties  and  it  has  always  been  a  wonder 
to  me  that  no  one  ever  turned  back. 

Through  this  great  trial  Brother  Lessa  had  to  go. 
His  father,  as  soon  as  he  heard  of  his  son's  resolution, 
went  to  see  him  and  began  to  argue,  to  threaten,  to 
plead  and  finally  with  tears  flowing  down  his  cheeks 
begged  him:  "My  son,  do  not  disgrace  your  family; 
do  not  deny  your  baptism,"  and  young  Lessa  with 
tears  streaming  down  his  face  answered :  "Meu  querido 
pae !  My  dear  father,  I  have  never  disobeyed  nor  dis- 
respected you,  but  in  this  matter  you  must  have  pa- 
tience, for  I  must  do  the  will  of  my  Saviour  first. 
However,  the  time  will  soon  come  when  you  will  see 
that  I  did  the  right  thing  and  you  will  then  bless  and 
not  curse  me." 

Brother  Lessa  was  baptized  before  an  audience  of 
over  three  thousand  witnesses  and  his  family  after 
that  would  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  him.  Soon 
he  won  the  heart  of  a  splendid  Christian  girl  whose 
mother  was  British  (from  the  South  African  white 
colony),  a  young  lady  Mrs.  Ginsburg  was  training 
and  preparing  for  the  Master's  work.  The  marriage 
ceremony  took  place  in  our  own  home,  and  one  of 
Brother  Lessa's  brothers,  the  youngest,  had  the 
courage  to  come  and  witness  the  marriage  scene.  This 
act  so  touched  the  heart  of  this  young  man  that  he 
went  home  and  told  his  father  that  he  also  was  a 
Protestant  and  would  soon  be  baptized.  In  less  than 
a  year  Brother  Lessa's  life  and  testimony  brought 
to  the  feet  of  the  Lord  Jesus  nearly  all  that  were 
near  and  dear  to  him  and  though  his  father  held  out 


194        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

for  a  longer  time  he  also  is  today  a  leader  in  the 
Campos  church. 

Although  not  a  college  graduate  he  is  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  preachers  of  the  Word  of  God  and 
a  mighty  spiritual  influence  among  his  people.  Gentle 
and  sweet  in  spirit,  hard-working,  self-sacrificing,  he 
is  a  wonderful  example  of  what  God  can  do. 

I  will  never  forget  the  first  time  I  asked  him  to 
speak  in  public.  He  trembled  like  a  leaf  and  when  he 
had  spoken  his  few  words  he  said  to  me,  "Never 
again!"  But  I  gave  him  my  experience  and  told  him 
that  when  I  was  converted  and  was  asked  to  give 
my  testimony  I  could  only  say  one  phrase.  I  told 
him  that  the  Lord  would  help  him  if  he  would  only 
submit  himself  to  His  guidance  and  direction. 

On  most  of  my  evangelistic  trips  I  would  have 
him  with  me  and  began  to  teach  him  how  to  study  the 
Bible,  how  to  analyze  a  text  and  how  to  prepare  for 
a  little  talk.  On  Fridays,  in  the  evening,  I  held  a 
Bible  class  and  Brother  Lessa  never  missed  one.  He 
loved  to  study  the  Bible.  Mrs.  Ginsburg  taught  him 
to  read  the  English  language  and  he  began  to  read 
our  English  commentaries. 

As  the  work  in  the  Campos  Mission  developed  I 
pushed  him  forward  giving  him  the  care  of  one  of  our 
preaching  places  in  that  city.  Gradually  he  developed 
until  he  became  indispensable  to  me,  accompanying  me 
on  almost  all  of  my  Colportage  and  Evangelistic  trips. 
He  soon  became  a  mighty  man  of  God.  Today,  as 
State  Secretary,  elected  and  re-elected  I  do  not  know 
how  many  times,  he  is  leading  the  churches,  that  have 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        195 

now  grown  to  the  number  of  sixty,  into  ways  of  self- 
support  and  self-development. 

One  trait  of  his  religious  life  is  gratifying,  and  that 
is  his  love  for  the  missionaries  and  faithfulness  to  the 
denominational  and  organized  work. 

We  had  a  split  once  in  that  great  field.  The  work 
was  divided  and  some  of  the  workers  and  churches 
turned  against  Bro.  Dunstan,  the  missionary  then  on 
the  field,  and  naturally  against  the  organized  work. 
Bul  Brother  Lessa  stood  firm  and  though  every  induce- 
ment was  offered  him  to  turn  against  the  organized 
work  he  stood  like  a  rock  and  the  work  was  saved  from 
a  complete  collapse.  Today  almost  all  the  revolting 
churches  and  workers  have  come  back  to  the  organized 
work  and  the  Cause  of  our  Master  in  that  State  is 
growing  wonderfully. 

Adrian  Onesimo  Bernardo. — Brother  Bernardo  is 
today  one  of  the  most  acceptable  evangelists  of  Brazil 
and  was  for  a  time  director  of  the  campaign  among  the 
Baptists  of  Brazil  to  raise  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars  in  five  years.  He  is  eloquent,  spiri- 
tual, well-prepared,  intelligent  and  mighty  in  the 
Scriptures. 

I  shall  always  remember  the  day  when  he  held  up 
his  hand  indicating  his  decision  for  Christ  as  I  was 
preaching  the  Gospel  in  a  small  city  in  the  interior 
of  Bahia,  called  San  Antonio  de  Jesus. 

The  day  that  he  and  six  others  were  led  into  the 
baptistry  before  a  multitude  of  onlookers,  was  a  red- 
letter  day  in  that  little  country  church. 

Brother  Bernardo  was  apprenticed  to  a  tailor  in 


196       A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

that  city.  Every  Sunday  he  would  go  to  listen  to 
the  Gospel  message  and  it  drew  him  and  satisfied  his 
heart-hunger.  The  church  had  no  pastor  but  every 
Sunday  one  of  the  deacons  or  brethren  would  lead 
the  meeting.  They  were  a  small  group  of  Christians, 
but  full  of  faith  and  great  believers  in  the  power  of  a 
prayer-hearing  and  prayer-answering  God. 

When  I  took  charge  of  the  Bahia  field  in  1909  one 
of  my  first  visits  was  to  that  little  church  and  after 
a  few  days  of  preaching  Brother  Bernardo  and  a  great 
many  others  decided  for  Christ  and  after  instruction 
were  buried  with  Christ  in  baptism. 

Brother  Bernardo  with  a  heart  full  of  joy  and  a 
burning  desire  to  serve  the  Master  threw  himself  into 
the  work  of  the  little  church,  building  it  up  in  all  its 
departments.  His  enthusiasm  and  zeal  became  irrisist- 
able  and  God  used  him  mightily.  He  belonged  to  a 
well-to-do  family  and  having  had  a  good  school  edu- 
cation he  gave  himself  to  the  cultivation  of  his  natural 
talents  and  before  long  made  of  himself  a  capable  and 
valuable  helper  in  that  section. 

On  several  of  my  visits  to  that  part  of  the  field  I 
noticed  with  growing  pleasure  the  usefulness  of  that 
young  man  and  on  several  occasions  took  him  with  me 
on  my  visits  to  the  interior  churches  studying  his 
character  and  natural  gifts. 

One  day  I  suggested  to  him  the  necessity  of  a  better 
preparation  for  the  Master's  service  and  he  readily 
accepted  the  suggestion  and  manifested  great  eager- 
ness to  take  it  and  to  give  himself,  heart,  and  sold 
to  the  work. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        197 

After  corresponding  with  the  Seminary  men  of 
Pernambuco  I  sent  him  there,  and  he  proved  himself 
a  splendid  student.  After  a  few  years  of  study  in 
Pernambuco  he  was  sent  by  the  missionaries  to  the 
United  States  where  he 'graduated  with  high  honors 
at  Baylor  University. 

Today  Brother  A.  O.  Bernardo  is  a  mighty  leader, 
a  great  power  for  good  among  his  own  people.  He 
is  in  the  prime  of  life,  has  a  strong  physique  and 
his  heart  is  full  of  zeal  for  the  salvation  of  his  people 
and  the  spreading  of  the  Baptist  principles  in  his  own 
country.  He  has  recently  accepted  a  call  to  teach  in 
the  Theological  Seminary  in  Pernambuco. 

Manoel  Avelino  de  Souza,  Pastor  in  Nictheroy. — 
Having  graduated  with  honors  from  our  College  and 
Seminary  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  after  seven  years  of  hard 
work  and  many  struggles,  Brother  Avelino,  as  he  is 
usually  called,  is  now  the  efficient  pastor  of  the  church 
in  Nictheroy,  the  capital  of  the  State  of  Rio  and  one 
of  the  Baptist  leaders  in  Brazil. 

I  found  him  in  the  interior  of  the  State  of  Bahia, 
serving  as  an  employee  in  a  Venda.  (In  Brazil  a 
Venda  is  considered  something  like  a  saloon  in  our 
country,  though,  besides  alcoholic  drinks,  other  things 
are  sold,  such  as  vegetables,  fruits,  and  the  like.) 

When  I  met  him  the  first  time  he  had  already  joined 
the  church  in  Olhos  d'Agua  and  his  heart  was  anxious 
to  do  something  for  the  Master.  He  did  not  like  his 
job,  especially  the  selling  of  drinks,  after  his  conver- 
sion. But  he  was  indispensable  to  his  employer,  not 
only  on  accoimt  of  his  untiring  service  and  knowl- 


198        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

edge  of  business,  but  also  because  of  his  honesty  and 
faithfulness. 

In  1910  Dr.  T.  B.  Ray  visited  that  district  and 
Brother  Avelino  went  along  with  us  helping  and  serv- 
ing in  every  possible  way.  I  called  Dr.  Ray's  atten- 
tion to  the  boy  as  well  as  to  his  excellent  character 
and  asked  Dr.  Ray  to  speak  to  him  about  deciding  for 
the  Master's  service.  Dr.  Ray  had  a  good  talk  with 
the  boy  and  he  afterwards  informed  me  that  the  con- 
versation he  had  with  Dr.  Ray  helped  him  to  decide 
for  the  Master's  work. 

After  proving  his  worth  I  wrote  him  to  obtain  the 
approval  of  the  brethren  and  to  come  to  our  State 
Board  meeting  prepared  to  go  to  Rio  and  enter  as  a 
ministerial  student.  I  was  sure  that  the  State  Board 
would  recommend  him  once  they  saw  and  heard  him. 

A  great  struggle  took  place  between  him  and  his 
employer.  This  man  did  all  he  could  to  keep  him  from 
going.  He  offered  the  boy  a  larger  salary  and  an 
interest  in  the  business.  He  told  him  that  the  promises 
of  the  missionary  were  all  false,  that  instead  of  study- 
ing he  would  be  made  a  slave  and  polisher  of  shoes. 
But  the  boy  stood  his  ground  nobly,  resisting  all  temp- 
tations. He  had  seen  the  vision  and  was  ready  to 
follow  the  Master  wherever  He  would  lead.  If  the 
shining  of  shoes  would  enable  him  to  prepare  himself 
for  the  Master's  work  he  was  willing  to  shine  the 
shoes  of  every  missionary. 

He  did  an  excellent    work    in    the    College    and 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        199 

Seminary.  Although  he  entered  with  very  little  pre- 
paration he  worked  hard  and  became  a  very  proficient 
student,  graduating  with  full  honors.  During  his 
studies  he  helped  Dr.  Entzminger  as  pastor's  as- 
sistant in  the  Nictheroy  Church  and  when  Dr.  Entz- 
minger resigned  he  was  called  to  the  pastorate.  The 
church  now  is  not  only  self-supporting,  but  has  re- 
cently finished  building  a  beautiful  temple,  at  the  cost 
of  about  $25,000.  He  is  young  and  in  the  prime  of  life 
and  will  accomplish  yet  greater  things  for  his  people 
and  the  Baptist  cause. 

Manoel  da  Paz,  Pastor  in  Pemambuco. — Brother 
Da  Paz  has  a  very  weak  and  slender  body,  but  his 
heart  and  soul  are  on  fire.  His  sermons  are  short,  but 
well  prepared,  eloquent  in  language  and  profoundly 
touching.  He  is  a  mighty  preacher  and  a  great 
worker.  The  last  time  I  saw  him  he  was  pastor  of  two 
of  the  most  prosperous  churches  in  the  great  city  of 
Pernambuco,  besides  being  director  and  principal 
teacher  of  a  parochial  school  connected  with  one  of 
those  churches  where  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  chil- 
dren are  studying. 

I  remember  well  the  first  time  he  came  into  our 
meeting,  held  in  one  of  the  suburbs  of  Pemambuco. 
How  he  listened  to  the  message !  Every  word  seemed 
like  the  Balm  of  Gilead,  delighting  his  soul.  He  was 
soon  baptized  and  became  an  active  worker  in  the 
church.  His  greatest  delight  was  in  taking  part  in 
open-air  services.     One  could  easily  locate  the  place 


200       A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

where  he  could  be  found,  if  one  inquired  which  meet- 
ing place  was  the  most  dangerous. 

Brother  Da  Paz  was  one  of  the  first  Bible  students 
in  Brazil  when  it  was  my  privilege  to  open  a  small 
Bible  class  in  our  home  in  1900. 

His  home  surroundings  were  not  the  brightest.  His 
father  had  not  treated  his  mother  right  and  he  was 
brought  up  amidst  poverty  and  suffering.  But  he  was 
a  good  boy  and  his  care  of  his  poor  mother  until  her 
end  was  wonderfully  touching.  He  had  the  privilege 
of  leading  her  to  Christ  and  of  even  helping  his  father 
in  times  of  need  and  difficulty. 

Brother  Da  Paz  studied  hard  and  used  every  op- 
portunity to  make  himself  useful  in  the  Master's  work. 
Today  he  is  considered  one  of  the  best  preachers  and 
workers  among  the  Baptist  host  in  the  great  Northern 
field  of  Brazil. 

Being  of  a  very  quiet  and  unobtrusive  disposition  he 
seldom  forces  himself  to  the  front,  but  the  believers 
love  him  and  often  have  elected  him  as  Moderator  of 
their  State  Conventions. 

Augusto  Felippe  Santiago,  Pastor  in  Parahiba. — 
When  I  first  met  Brother  Santiago  he  was  a  cisrar- 
maker.  His  mother  and  sister  and  one  of  his  brothers 
were  members  of  the  church,  but  he  did  not  believe 
in  God  nor  anything  else.  He  had  been  a  student  in 
a  Catholic  Seminary  and  had  seen  so  much  hypocrisy 
and  corruption  and  sin,  all  under  the  guise  of  religion 
that  he  determined  not  to  have  anything  to  do  with  it. 

But  his  mother  and  sister  were  praying  and  the 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL       201 

good  Lord  heard  their  cry.  We  established  a  preach- 
ing service  in  their  home,  situated  in  one  of  the  most 
populous  suburbs  of  the  city  of  Pernambuco  and  it  was 
not  long  after  that  Brother  Augusto  felt  the  Spirit  of 
God  laying  hold  of  his  soul  and  forcing  him  to  his 
knees  where  he  pleaded  for  pardon  and  power. 

Soon  after  his  conversion,  as  it  often  happens  with 
the  Brazilian  believer,  he  threw  himself  heartily  into 
the  work,  taking  active  part,  especially  at  the  preach- 
ing service  held  in  his  own  home.  His  testimony, 
after  so  many  years  of  opposition,  was  convincing  and 
many  were  brought  to  the  feet  of  the  Master. 

As  soon  as  the  idea  of  a  Seminary  in  Pernambuco 
was  brought  up  he  came  to  see  me  and  informed  me 
that  he  would  give  his  life  to  the  work  of  preaching 
the  Gospel  to  his  own  people.  I  had  been  praying 
about  him  and  had  planned  to  speak  to  him  at  an 
opportune  time,  but  the  Lord  answered  my  prayer 
before  I  expected. 

He  became  a  good  student  and  is  today  one  of  our 
best  preachers  and  workers.  Every  church  that  he 
has  served  has  grown.  Just  now  he  is  serving  in  two 
States — Pernambuco  and  Rio  Grande  do  Norte.  With 
very  limited  funds,  as  the  believers  are  poor,  and  the 
opposition  not  only  of  Catholics,  but  also  of  some  of 
our  Pedo-Baptist  brethren,  yet  he  is  doing  a  mighty 
work,  training  the  churches  in  self-support  and  self- 
government. 

Several  business  men  of  the  capital  of  the  State 
where  he  works,  noticing  his  great  gift  of  attracting 
people  have  made  him  oflFers  that  could  bring  him 


202        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

twice  or  three  times  as  much  money  as  he  is  receiving 
from  the  churches,  but,  though  he  has  a  family  of  ten 
persons  (including  two  mothers-in-law)  he  prefers  to 
work  for  the  Master. 

Tertuliano  Cerqueira,  Pastor  in  Para. — The  Cer- 
queira  family  is  one  of  the  largest  and  richest  in  the 
interior  of  the  State  of  Bahia.  At  a  place  called  Irara 
a  visit  by  Dr.  Z.  C.  Taylor  in  company  of  Dr.  Ottoni, 
a  celebrated  ex-priest,  had  brought  about  the  conver- 
sion of  a  member  of  that  family  who  afterwards  was 
ordained  to  the  ministry  and  placed  in  charge  of  that 
district. 

It  was  at  the  invitation  of  this  native  preacher  that 
I  went  to  Irara  and  had  splendid  meetings. 

The  hall  being  too  small  for  the  crowds  that  came 
flocking  to  listen  to  the  message  of  God,  we  trans- 
ferred them  into  the  open  air,  the  Lord's  blessing  fol- 
lowing us  in  a  most  wonderful  way,  many  being  saved. 

One  that  never  missed  a  meeting  was  young  Tertu- 
liano, then  a  boy  only  fourteen  years  old.  The  native 
preacher  was  his  brother-in-law.  He  had  heard  him 
speak  about  Jesus  and  His  love,  about  the  Word  of 
God,  and  had  heard  him  pray.  His  young  heart  was 
yearning  for  God  and  His  salvation.  But,  his  parents 
and  relatives  were  against  him.  His  father  threatened 
to  kill  him  if  he  should  go  to  the  meetings  and  his 
brother,  in  whose  shop  he  was  employed,  threatened 
to  drive  him  out  for  the  same  reason. 

But  Tertuliano  came  in  spite  of  the  threats.  Before 
the  meetings  would  begin  he  would  come  and  hide 
behind  the  small  organ  that  I  usually  took  on  my  mis- 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        203 

sionary  trips.  Before  the  series  of  meetings  were  over 
he  begged  for  baptism.  He  wanted  to  follow  the 
Lord  Jesus  even  at  the  risk  of  his  life. 

I  baptized  the  boy  before  a  great  multitude  of 
witnesses  and  recommending  him  to  God  I  advised  him 
to  consecrate  his  life  and  his  talents  to  the  blessed 
Lord  for  His  service  in  needy  Brazil. 

In  the  absence  of  the  pastor,  Tertuliano  would  take 
the  lead  and  made  himself  very  useful.  Though  per- 
secuted and  mistreated  by  his  own  he  continued  firm 
and  faithful  giving  an  excellent  testimony  before  all. 

Soon  after  his  baptism,  he  expressed  to  me  his  desire 
to  preach  the  Gospel  to  his  own  people.  I  was  pray- 
ing, watching  him  and  supplying  him  with  books  and 
papers  until  the  time  came  when  I  realized  that  he 
would  make  good.  The  church  recommended  him 
heartily  and  the  native  pastor  gave  his  full  consent 
and  so  I  brought  him  to  the  capital  and  presented  him 
to  the  State  Board.  The  brethren  on  the  Board 
thought  him  very  young,  but  after  hearing  him  speak 
and  pray  they  also  unanimously  agreed  to  recommend 
him  to  our  Seminary  in  Pernambuco. 

Tertuliano  arrived  in  Pernambuco  and  the  Dean  of 
the  Seminary,  Brother  D.  L.  Hamilton,  after  looking 
at  the  boy,  wrote  and  asked  me  if  I  thought  that  the 
Seminary  was  a  baby  nursery.  However,  as  I  had 
recommended  him  so  highly  they  thought  they  would 
try  him  for  at  least  six  months. 

Tertuliano  proved  himself  an  excellent  student  and 
a  leader  in  athletics.  He  graduated  with  high  honors 
and  today  is  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  church  in 


204        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

Para,  the  New  York  of  the  Amazon  valley,  and  he 
is  doing  an  excellent  work.  To  crown  it  all  he  is  now 
studying  medicine  and  before  long  will  be  a  full- 
fledged  medical  preacher  making  his  life  count  yet 
more  for  the  Master's  cause  in  that  great  and  needy 
field. 

Orlando  Falcao,  Pastor  First  Baptist  Church  in 
Pernambuco. — I  cannot  close  this  chapter  without 
telling  something  of  Brother  Orlando  and  how  he 
was  brought  into  the  Master's  service.  His  father  was 
practicing  law  in  the  city  of  Bom  Jardim,  where  a 
terrible  persecution  had  taken  place  and  had  brought 
much  death  and  misery  into  the  town.  When  the  be- 
lievers were  imprisoned  on  false  accusations,  Orlando's 
father  was  the  only  lawyer  who  dared  to  take  up  their 
case  and  offer  his  services  to  the  missionary.  I  am  not 
saying  that  he  did  it  for  the  love  of  the  cause  or  the 
brethren.  He  no  doubt  had  in  sight  some  monetary 
compensation,  but  he  helped  the  cause  and  the  good 
Lord  made  it  good  to  him  in  a  most  remarkable  way, 
by  calling  his  boy  to  the  highest  and  noblest  service 
a  man  could  be  called  to  and  making  of  him  one  of  the 
most  popular  and  useful  servants  in  that  service. 

Orlando  was  living  with  his  mother  on  a  little  farm 
not  far  from  Bom  Jardim.  The  Gospel  found  its  way 
into  that  district  and  his  mother  was  drawn,  by  a 
power  she  could  not  resist,  into  the  fold.  On  account 
of  her  decision,  the  husband  abandoned  her  to  her 
fate — but  her  boy  stood  by  her  and  though  only  four- 
teen years  old  he  helped  his  mother  in  her  daily  toils. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        205 

A  preaching  place  was  organized  in  the  home  of 
Orlando's  mother,  and  when  the  preacher  failed, 
Orlando,  then  not  a  member  of  the  church  would  help 
in  the  services  by  reading  portions  of  Scripture  and 
sermons  or  articles  published  in  our  weekly  paper. 

One  day  I  visited  that  district  and  stopped  over 
night  at  the  home  of  Orlando's  mother.  I  was  drawn 
to  the  boy  and  his  life  and  history  touched  me  pro- 
foundly. He  made  his  public  profession  of  faith  and 
I  baptized  him  together  with  several  others  before  a 
great  multitude  of  witnesses.  His  mother  with  tears 
streaming  down  her  face  consecrated  him  to  the  Mas- 
ter's service  then  and  there  and  the  Lord  accepted  her 
gift. 

Before  leaving  Pernambuco  for  another  field  I  saw 
that  Orlando  was  enrolled  as  a  student  in  our  Semi- 
nary, where  he  made  splendid  progress.  After  finish- 
ing his  course  in  Pernambuco  he  went  to  Baylor  Uni- 
versity, from  which  he  graduated  with  honors.  He 
then  spent  some  time  in  the  Louisville  Seminary.  He 
was  called  heartily  to  the  pastorate  of  the  First  Bap- 
tist church  in  Pernambuco  at  a  salary  that  he  thought 
was  above  his  needs  and  refused  to  accept  it  all. 

Today  Orlando  is  a  mighty  man  of  God.  Pastor 
of  the  First  Baptist  church  in  Pernambuco  with  a 
membership  of  over  500.  He  is  also  teacher  in  our 
great  College  and  Seminary  there  and  is  making  his 
life  count  for  his  Master  and  his  beloved  fatherland. 

And  thus  the  life  and  work  of  the  missionary  un- 
folds and  multiplies  and  reaches  unto  the  end  of  the 
ages. 


206        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

Oh,  what  a  privilege  is  ours ! 

The  responsibilities  of  our  work  are  great,  but  the 
joys  and  blessings  compensate  for  all. 


CHAPTER  VIIL 
COMPANIONS  AND  FRIENDS. 

Helps  and  Hindrances. — Every  life  is  helped  or 
hindered  by  his  companions  and  friends.  The  mis- 
sionary is  no  exception  to  the  rule.  In  this  auto- 
biography I  am  not  going  to  mention  the  names  of 
those  who  have  been  a  hindrance.  Opposition  and 
even  unbrotherliness  may  after  all  be  a  great  help  in 
the  building  up  of  character.  Had  I  always  had  my 
own  way  I  would  surely  have  been  spoiled  and  made 
overconfident. 

Dr.  Zacharias  Clay  Taylor. — I  have  mentioned  the 
name  of  this  good  brother  several  times  in  previous 
chapters,  but  in  this  one  I  must  give  him  the  first 
place.  I  am  hoping  to  be  able,  before  long  to  write 
his  biography.  His  children  have  been  kind  enough 
to  turn  the  manuscript  of  his  auto-biography  over  to 
me,  and  before  long  I  am  expecting  to  prepare  the 
book  for  the  public. 

In  this  chapter  I  wish  to  state  what  his  life  has 
meant  to  me.  We  did  not  agree  on  every  subject, 
but  to  be  with  him  and  in  his  home  was  a  privilege 
and  a  blessing.  He  was  the  most  unselfish  man  I  ever 
knew.  His  only  object  in  life  seemed  to  be  to  preach 
Christ  and  make  Him  known  to  the  Brazilians. 

The  first  time  I  met  him  was  in  Pernambuco.  I 
was  then  substitute  pastor  in  a  Congregational  church 
and  was  studying  the  subject  of  baptism.    The  Bap- 


208       A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

tists  in  Pcrnambuco  were  then  in  bad  repute  and 
Brother  Taylor  had  come  to  help  them.  I  invited  him 
to  share  the  room  with  me  at  the  back  of  the  building 
where  I  was  preaching  and  we  had  great  times  to- 
gether discussing  the  subject  of  baptism  and  close 
communion. 

What  helped  me  most  in  those  three  days  we  were 
together  were  his  prayers.  Whenever  a  difficulty 
would  appear  he  would  say :  "Brother,  let  us  take  it  to 
the  Lord  in  Prayer!"  Who  can  resist  the  man  that 
argues  with  prayer  and  with  an  open  Bible?  I  just 
could  not  resist  him  and  soon  was  drawn  not  only  to 
the  truth,  but  also  to  the  man  of  God  and  together  we 
united  our  lives  to  spread  the  truth  far  and  wide. 

Dr.  Taylor  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  seed- 
sowers  I  ever  knew.  He  was  untiring  and  unceasing 
in  his  efforts  to  spread  the  truth  all  over  the  vast 
territory  in  the  North  of  Brazil.  He  did  not  limit 
his  work  to  the  State  of  Bahia,  but  whenever  he  had 
an  opportunity  to  send  a  tract  or  make  a  personal 
visit  anywhere  else  he  would  do  it.  I  thought  that 
my  desire  to  evangelize  and  conquer  Brazil  for  Christ 
was  great,  but  his  spirit  was  like  a  burning  torch  that 
could  not  be  extinguished.  He  visited  almost  every 
district  in  the  Bahia  field — a  field  as  large  as  half  of 
Europe.  From  Bahia  he  went  to  the  North  visiting 
and  preaching  in  the  States  of  Alagoas,  Pemambuco 
and  Sergipe.  He  visited  the  Victoria  field  and  started 
the  work  there  as  well  as  in  the  great  inland  mission 
of  the  State  of  Piauhy  where  we  now  have  the  Inland 
Industrial  School. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL       209 

Not  only  did  he  sow  the  seed  but  he  was  a  great 
cultivator  of  the  seed.  Wherever  a  group  of  believers 
sprang  up  he  would  visit  them  and  encourage  them 
until  they  were  able  to  withstand  the  enemy  and 
stand  alone.  He  never  shirked  nor  feared  persecu- 
tions nor  sufferings.  Often  I  have  seen  him  return 
from  a  long  interior  trip  with  his  body  tired 
and  full  of  sores  on  account  of  the  bites  of  insects  or 
vampires — but  with  his  eyes  aflame  with  a  joy  un- 
speakable because  of  the  souls  he  had  been  able  to 
lead  to  the  Master.  Every  time  he  had  to  make  a 
sea  voyage  he  would  suffer  very  acutely  from  sea  sick- 
ness, but  that  would  not  deter  him  from  doing  his  duty. 
When  the  time  came  to  make  the  voyage  he  would  go 
with  gladness  of  heart  even  though  he  knew  that  he 
had  before  him  three  or  more  days  of  hunger,  sea- 
sickness and  even  danger  of  perishing  on  the  high 
sea  he  just  went. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  traits  in  his  character 
was  his  desire  to  work  in  harmony  with  all  the 
brethren.  Often  he  would  give  way  to  the  opinion  of 
others  and  gladly  submit  to  the  majority  whenever  a 
majority  adopted  a  rule,  though  sometimes  it  was 
entirely  opposite  to  his  way  of  thinking.  I  remember 
how  his  heart  was  set  on  keeping  up  the  work  of  our 
Brazilian  Home  Board  in  the  Acre  Territory,  and  dur- 
ing the  Convention  of  1908  held  in  Rio  he  pled  and 
argued  in  its  favor  all  the  time;  but  when  the  vote 
was  taken  favoring  a  move  in  an  entirely  different 
direction  he  gladly  submitted  and  labored  in  favor  of 


210        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

this  policy  as  if  his  own  ideas  had  been  adopted.  Very 
few  men  can  do  a  thing  Hke  that. 

Whenever  Brother  Taylor  found  himself  in  difficul- 
ties he  would  call  upon  me  to  help  him  and  to  me  it 
was  always  a  great  delight  to  go,  not  only  to  his  aid 
but  to  spend  a  few  weeks  in  his  home  and  in  his  com- 
pany. What  blessed  times  we  had  together !  Oh,  how 
I  have  missed  him,  his  loving,  cheerful,  Christ-like 
spirit !  And  the  native  believers,  how  they  loved  and 
trusted  him !  I  saw  his  grave  a  few  months  ago  and 
though  no  monument  yet  marks  it,  it  seemed  to  me  as 
if  I  could  see  hosts  of  angels  hovering  around  that 
mound  of  earth  in  that  cemetery  outside  of  Waco, 
Texas,  close  by  his  Alma  Mater.  In  my  fancy  they 
praised  and  glorified  God  for  the  great  life  of  that 
man  of  God,  the  Apostle  of  Brazil. 

What  his  life,  and  testimony  and  example  have 
been  to  me  personally,  I  am  utterly  unable  to  ex- 
press. I  thank  God  for  ever  having  known  and 
loved  and  worked  with  Brother  Zacharias  C.  Taylor. 

Dr.  W.  E.  Entzminger. — The  first  time  I  met 
Brother  Entzminger  was  when  I  was  telling  of  my 
conversion  and  was  asking  for  baptism  in  the  home 
of  Dr.  Z.  C.  Taylor  in  Bahia,  in  1891.  It  was  his 
first  year  in  Brazil.  Shortly  after  Dr.  Taylor  was 
obliged  to  go  to  the  United  States,  on  account  of  his 
wife's  illness.  Brother  Entzminger  and  myself  were 
left  alone  in  that  great  Bahia  field.  He  was  strug- 
gling with  the  difficulties  of  the  Portuguese  language 
and  I,  trying  to  learn  the  doctrines,  rules  and  prin- 
ciples of  Baptist  churches. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        211 

It  was  then  that  I  learned  to  know  and  to  love 
Brother  Entzminger.  We  established  a  bond  of  friend- 
ship that  has  endured  throughout  these  thirty  years 

Our  first  united  effort  was  in  Pernambuco  where  we 
held  a  series  of  evangelistic  meetings  that  stirred  the 
city.  We  reorganized  the  local  Baptist  Church  and 
started  it  on  its  way  of  usefulness  and  present  great- 
ness. Brother  Entzminger  moved  his  headquarters  to 
Pernambuco  and  with  great  care  and  caution  built  up 
one  of  the  finest  mission  fields  in  Brazil. 

Our  work,  for  a  good  many  years  was  in  different 
sections  of  Brazil,  but  we  kept  in  close  touch  with 
«ach  other  and  several  times  it  was  my  privilege  to 
visit  his  field  and  spend  days  and  weeks  in  his  lovely 
home  where  I  was  always  received  with  open  arms 
and  treated  w4th  Christian  grace. 

It  was  in  1914,  after  moving  to  Rio  and  joining 
hands  in  the  great  Carroll  Memorial  Publishing  House 
that  I  became  better  and  closer  acquainted  with 
Brother  Entzminger. 

As  a  worker  very  few  on  the  field  can  equal  him, 
especially  in  his  line  of  work,  which  is  editing  and  pre- 
paring our  Baptist  literature.  His  knowledge  of  the 
Portuguese  language  is  marvelous  and  his  thoughts, 
studies  and  arguments  in  favor  of  our  doctrines  and 
principles  unsurpassed.  When  he  undertakes  the  study 
of  a  subject  he  know^s  how  to  dig  deep  and  then 
present  it  in  such  a  way  that  his  judgment  is  received 
as  final. 

In  spite  of  numerous  difficulties  he  organized  and 
established  the  Baptist  press  in  Rio  and  for  years 


212        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

maintained  it  almost  alone.  He  had  to  be  Editor, 
Manager  and  Field  Agent,  as  well  as  meet  all  of  the 
opposition.  Brother  Entzminger  stood  the  ground, 
fought  the  good  fight  and  today  the  Brazilian  Baptist 
hosts  have  a  publishing  enterprise  worthy  of  any 
denomination. 

It  has  been  my  privilege  to  be  in  close  touch  with 
him  in  this  work  for  the  last  seven  years.  We  do  not 
always  agree,  but  we  have  learned  to  agree,  to  dis- 
agree and  to  forget  many  things  of  minor  conse- 
quence, but  stand  firm  for  the  Baptists  and  the  Mas- 
ter's cause  at  whatever  sacrifice. 

And  what  a  great  help  he  has  been  to  my  spiritual 
life — for,  besides  being  a  great  student  of  the  Word 
of  God,  Brother  Entzminger  is  also  a  man  of  prayer. 
Often  when  we  have  found  ourselves  in  difficulties 
that  seemed  to  threaten  the  very  existence  of  the  en- 
terprise entrusted  to  us,  we  would  retire  to  our  sanc- 
tuary and  there  prostrate  ourselves  before  God  and 
plead  together  until  heard  and  answered. 

The  most  notable  gift  of  Brother  Entzminger  be- 
sides that  of  editor  and  writer  is  his  capacity  for  or- 
ganizing churches.  Every  church  that  he  has  taken 
hold  of,  in  spite  of  his  endless  toil  in  the  Publishing 
House,  has  grown  and  is  today  a  strong  spiritual 
center.  As  proofs  of  it,  one  has  only  to  cite  the  First 
Baptist  church  in  Nictheroy,  where  he  labored  for 
years;  the  Second  Baptist  church  in  Rio,  which  he 
helped  to  steer  through  a  great  crisis  and  the  church 
in  Meyer,  organized  in  a  popular  suburb  of  Rio  neat 
the  Publishing  House,  which  he  took  hold  of  a  few 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        213 

years  ago  and  which  is  today  a  great  spiritual  power 
house. 

In  the  church  work  his  consecrated  wife  helped  him 
effectively. 

Dr.  Entzminger  still  has  many  years  of  usefulness 
before  him.  May  our  heavenly  Father  continue  to 
prosper  and  use  him  as  He  has  done  up  to  the  present. 
These  few  lines,  but  tamely  reveal  our  mutual  love, 
and  how  helpful  he  has  been  to  me  in  my  life's  work 
and  struggles  in  Brazil. 

Dr.  John  W.  Shepard  and  Bro.  H.  H.  Muirhead.— 
During  my  furlough  in  1904  it  was  my  privilege  to 
meet  these  two  men  of  God,  and  present  to  them  the 
great  work  of  preparing  our  Brazilian  young  men  for 
the  Master's  service  in  Brazil. 

I  had  been  struggling  with  that  problem  in  Brazil 
for  years.  A  Bible  class  had  been  organized  in  my 
own  home  and  Mrs.  Ginsburg,  the  late  Brother  J.  E. 
Hamilton  and  myself  with  the  help  of  a  few  native 
teachers  had  been  trying  our  best  to  do  it  justice. 
The  Foreign  Mission  Board  had  sent  Brother  W.  H. 
Cannada,  to  our  rescue  and  he  had  moved  the  school  to 
a  larger  building  and  the  pupils  were  coming  in  from 
all  parts  of  the  city,  as  well  as  from  the  neighboring 
States.  The  conversion  of  the  ex-Priest  Piani,  through 
the  efforts  of  Brother  Cannada,  and  the  great  persecu- 
tions we  had  to  suffer  helped  us  wonderfully  and  the 
cause  was  prospered  mightily. 

Someone  was  needed  urgently  to  take  up  the  special 
work  of  training  the  native  ministerial  students  and  we 
appealed  to  our  heavenly  Father  to  lead  us  in  this  very 


214        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

important  matter.  Praised  be  His  name,  He  did  lead 
us  and  answered  in  a  most  wonderful  way. 

I  met  Brother  Shepard  in  the  home  of  his  brother- 
in-law,  Dr.  W.  O.  Carver,  professor  in  the  Southern 
Baptist  Theological  Seminary.  It  was  my  privilege 
to  spend  a  week  in  that  lovely  Christian  home,  a  never- 
to-be-forgotten  experience.  There  I  was  introduced  to 
Brother  Shepard  who  was  then  finishing  his  theolo- 
gical studies  in  that  great  Southern  Baptist  institution. 
I  was  most  favorably  impressed  with  him  and  it  was 
my  privilege  to  lay  before  him  the  great  possibilities 
of  a  life  spent  for  the  Master  in  Brazil,  especially  in 
the  training  of  native  preachers.  I  saw  that  a  deep 
impression  had  been  made  on  his  heart  and  mind. 
After  we  separated  I  went  to  my  room  and  on  my 
knees  asked  the  Lord,  if  it  was  His  will,  to  send  him 
to  Brazil. 

As  soon  as  he  graduated  and  got  himself  his  help- 
meet, the  lady  of  his  heart,  he  came  to  Pernambuco. 
He  mastered  the  language  rapidly  and  before  long  was 
also  master  of  the  situation.  He  worked  out  a  pro- 
gram and  plan  that  the  Board  in  Richmond,  Virginia, 
heartily  approved  and  it  was  not  long  until  Brother 
Shepard  was  in  the  Federal  capital  of  Brazil,  the  city 
of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  laying  the  foundation  of  Rio 
Baptist  College  and  Seminary  and  an  organized  sys- 
tem of  education  that  is  telling  upon  the  lives,  not  only 
of  our  churches,  but  upon  the  whole  nation.  The 
college  and  seminary  that  he  has  developed,  with  the 
help  of  God,  is  today  considered  a  mighty  factor  in 
Brazil.    It  has  an  extensive  and  finely  located  campus 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        215 

on  which  have  been  erected  several  splendid  build- 
ings. Its  enrollment  last  year  taxed  its  capacity.  Al- 
most fifty  ministerial  students  were  in  attendance.  It 
has  a  promising  normal  department  also.  The  new 
property  acquired  recently  for  the  young  women  puts 
that  department  in  excellent  position.  Some  industrial 
features  have  been  introduced.  Indeed  the  institution 
is  in  a  most  flourishing  condition. 

I  have  been  connected  with  the  Board  of  Trustees 
of  the  Seminary  and  College  for  many  years  and  have 
been  glad  to  support  to  the  best  of  my  ability  Brother 
Shepard  and  his  plans  through  a  great  many  struggles 
and  trials. 

One  outstanding  characteristic  of  his  life  is  his 
persistence  in  the  realization  of  his  plans.  Not  all  the 
members  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  or  even  faculty  can 
always  agree  with  him  or  realize  the  vastness  of  the 
plans,  but  they  all  trust  him  and  follow  him  gladly. 
He  works  hard  and  builds  wisely.  The  choice  of  the 
land  on  which  the  college  is  located,  the  plans  for  the 
future,  the  great  objective  in  view — all  tend  to  prove 
that  Brazil  has  the  right  man  in  the  right  place. 

To  me  personally,  Brother  Shepard  has  been  a 
tower  of  strength  and  continual  inspiration.  Although 
our  work  is  on  entirely  different  lines,  yet  we  are  often 
together.  As  president  of  the  Board  of  Publications 
he  has  stood  by  me  in  developing  the  plans  for  a 
greater  and  more  efficient  enterprise  in  the  publishing 
line. 

His  life  to  Brazil,  especially  in  the  training  of  young 
Brazilians  for  the  ministry,  is  of  untold  value. 


216       A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

May  our  heavenly  Father  spare  him  for  many 
years,  and  use  him  as  He  has  done  for  greater  good 
in  His  mighty  work  in  Brazil. 

During  the  same  furlough  I  met,  in  the  home  of 
Dr.  DeMent,  then  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church 
in  Waco,  Texas,  Brother  Muirhead.  My  first  glimpse 
of  his  young,  intelligent  looking  face,  impressed  me 
favorably  and  after  telling  him  of  the  great  open 
door  in  Brazil  urged  him  to  consecrate  his  life  to 
that  field. 

After  special  preparation  for  educational  work  he 
came  to  Pemambuco  and  it  did  not  take  Mrs.  Gins- 
burg  and  myself  long  to  see  that  he  was  a  natural  bom 
leader,  especially  in  the  building  up  of  an  educational 
institution  in  the  great  city  of  Pemambuco. 

What  his  life  has  been  worth  to  that  field  and  in- 
stitution which  he  is  now  directing,  eternity  only  will 
tell.  From  a  small  school,  harassed  and  persecuted  he 
has  built  up  an  institution  that  is  a  standing  monu- 
ment of  what  God  can  and  will  do  through  those  who 
consecrate  their  all  to  Him  and  His  cause.  The 
Pemambuco  Baptist  College  has  now  over  nine  hun- 
dred pupils  coming  from  all  classes  of  society.  The 
Seminary  has  forty  young  men  who  are  preparing 
themselves  to  serve  the  Master.  The  Girls'  Training 
School  has  thirty-five  or  more  young  ladies  who  are 
being  trained  for  the  Master's  service  and  who  will, 
before  long,  be  scattered  all  over  Brazil  serving  th« 
Master  whose  call  they  have  heard  and  obeyed. 

Brother  Muirhead  is  untiring  in  his  efforts  and  has 
had  the  wonderful  gift  in  surrounding  himself  with 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL       217 

capable  helpers  that  love  and  trust  him.  Mrs.  Muir- 
hcad,  too,  is  inimitable  in  her  position  and  work.  A 
full  graduate  of  Baylor  University  she  is  always  on 
hand  to  fill  up  any  gap  that  may  occur  in  the  teaching 
force,  for  she  not  only  is  great  in  the  training  of  her 
family,  her  seven  lovely  children,  but  also  is  a  wonder- 
ful musician,  and  can  teach  just  as  well  higher 
Mathematics  and  Greek  as  prepare  a  real  Southern 
biscuit. 

Brother  Muirhead's  life  and  work  has  been  of  great 
value  to  the  Baptists  in  Brazil  and  his  example  of 
consecration  and  spiritual  life  a  stimulus  to  my  life. 
It  was  my  privilege  to  work  with  him  for  some  time 
and  guide  his  first  steps  in  the  work  in  Brazil.  Gentle- 
manly, courteous,  straight-forward  and  clean,  he  at- 
tracts you  to  himself  and  conquers  your  affections. 
The  need  of  the  work  in  Brazil  placed  us  in  different 
fields  of  labor,  but  our  hearts  and  lives  are  imited  as 
in  the  days  gone  by,  for  our  objective  is  the  same. 

Soren,  Theodore  and  Thomas  da  Costa. — Further 
on  in  this  chapter  the  reader  will  find  a  fuller  state- 
ment about  Dr.  W.  B.  Bagby,  our  veteran  missionary 
to  Brazil,  but  in  connection  with  the  three  names  that 
head  this  paragraph,  I  must  say  that  if  Dr.  Bagby  had 
done  nothing  more  during  his  long  life  of  usefulness 
in  Brazil  than  bring  these  men  to  the  feet  of  the 
Master  his  life's  work  would  have  been  a  complete 
success. 

Just  think  of  it :  Here  is  Brother  Soren,  for  about 
twenty  years  the  efficient  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church  in  the  great  Brazilian  Metropolis ;  Theodoro, 


218        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

whom  God  gave  the  gift  of  a  scribe,  editorial  secre- 
tary of  the  Carroll  Memorial  Publishing  House ;  and 
Thomas  da  Costa,  the  consecrated  business  man,  who 
not  only  contributes  liberally  to  the  cause,  but  has 
given  his  life  to  the  Master's  service  in  Brazil.  Was 
it  not  worth  while  to  go  to  Brazil  and  win  such  men 
for  Christ  ?  Although  Dr.  Bagby  has  been  separated 
from  them  for  years,  working  in  another  part  of 
Brazil,  these  men  are  doing  their  part,  in  the  conquest 
of  the  Brazilian  nation  for  Christ  and  the  Baptists. 

It  has  been  my  privilege  also  to  come  in  close  touch 
with  these  three  men  and  a  word  about  each  of  them 
will  not  be  amiss,  for  every  one  of  them  has  been  a 
great  help  and  blessing  to  my  life  and  work. 

The  first  time  I  met  Soren  was  when  he  had  just 
started  in  his  Christian  career.  He  was  still  working 
at  his  business,  but  would  come  almost  daily  to  the 
home  of  Dr.  J.  J.  Taylor  to  study  English  and  the 
Bible.  One  characteristic  of  his  impressed  itself  upon 
my  mind  and  that  was  his  love  of  cleanliness  and  neat- 
ness. This  characteristic  he  has  kept  all  through  life 
not  only  in  his  apparel  but  in  his  home  and  in  his  life. 

Ever  since  then  I  have  followed  his  life  and  work 
and  praised  the  Lord  for  such  a  life  of  consecration 
and  usefulness.  No  doubt  the  good  wife  he  found  in 
dear  old  Kentucky  has  helped  him  wonderfully.  Who, 
looking  upon  the  great  work  that  he  has  been  able  to 
do,  does  not  praise  God  for  it?  In  spite  of  the 
obstacles  and  difficulties,  in  spite  of  the  almost  unbear- 
able conditions  under  which  he  has  labored,  in  a  hall 
unfit  for   any    ordinary  congregation,  let    alone   the 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        219 

enormous  crowd  that  fill  the  preaching  place,  he  has 
already  organized  ten  Baptist  churches  and  still  has 
a  congregation  of  over  five  hundred.  It  is  simply 
astonishing ! 

W^hat  is  the  secret  of  his  great  success  ?  The  only 
answer  I  can  give  is  his  preaching  of  the  plain  Gospel. 
After  all  it  is  this  that  the  sick  soul  longs  for.  Soren 
can  be  eloquent  when  he  wants  to  be,  but  you  will  be 
disappointed  along  that  line  if  you  go  to  hear  him 
preach,  for  then  he  forgets  himself  and  with  a  heart 
full  of  love  for  lost  souls,  pleads  the  cause  of  His 
Master  in  such  simple  plain,  touching  language  that 
one  can  hardly  help  surrendering. 

Soren  is  a  great  man  of  God,  a  power  in  his  de- 
nomination. His  love  and  sacrifices  for  our  Rio  Col- 
lege and  Seminary  have  no  limit  and  though  on  that 
account  he  has  been  misinterpreted  and  misunder- 
stood, yet  Soren  has  no  object  in  view  except  the 
glory  of  God,  the  good  of  his  people  and  the  estab- 
lishment  of   the   Baptist   cause. 

What  Soren  is  to  the  Baptist  cause  as  a  preacher 
Theodoro  is  as  a  writer.  God  gave  Soren  the  gift 
of  preaching  w4th  which  he  has  drawn  thousands  to 
the  feet  of  Christ — to  Theodoro  he  gave  the  gift  of 
expressing  his  thoughts  in  writing  and  the  Lord  has 
also  used  him  and  the  gifts  in  winning  many  to  Him- 
self. 

The  first  time  I  had  anything  to  do  with  Theodoro 
was  soon  after  my  moving  to  Nictheroy  in  the  early 
part  of  1893.  He  was  anxious  to  do  something  for 
the  Master  and  I  tried  him  at  seUing  books  and  Bibles 


220        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

as  a  Colporter.  He  did  not  seem  to  be  very  suc- 
cessful in  that  line  of  business  and  I  lost  trace  of  him 
until  Brother  Entzminger  started  the  editing  of  our 
denominational  paper  in  Rio  and  called  Thcodoro  as 
his  helper.  His  knowledge  of  Portuguese  cannot  be 
matched  and  his  way  of  expressing  his  thoughts  is  so 
unique  that  one  cannot  help  but  see  the  point  he  tries 
to  describe.  Brother  Soren  taught  him  English  which 
he  can  read  and  translate  readily,  though  he  is  unable 
to  speak  it.  In  this  particular  he  has  been  a  great 
help  in  the  editorial  department,  translating  direct 
from  our  American  papers,  Baptist  news  and  passages 
that  have  helped  to  build  up  the  Baptist  sentiment 
and  cause.  His  life  and  his  work  have  been  wonder- 
fully helpful  to  our  cause  in  Brazil  and  we  thank  God 
for  having  given  to  us  such  a  life  with  such  a  gift. 

For  the  last  seven  years  I  was  closely  associated 
with  him  in  the  Publishing  House  and  I  must  say 
that  had  it  not  been  for  him  I  would  have  found  it  very 
difficult  to  carry  out  the  program  of  the  Publishing 
House.  Quiet,  unassuming,  untiring,  faithful,  honest 
and  loyal,  he  stands  today  as  a  monument  of  God's 
power.  Not  content  with  the  great  amount  of  work 
he  accomplishes  in  the  Publishing  House  he  is  un- 
tiring in  his  service  in  the  First  Baptist  church,  where 
he  is  Sunday  School  Superintendent,  Treasurer  and 
President  or  Secretary  of  some  of  the  church  or- 
ganizations. 

And  what  shall  I  say  about  Thomas  da  Costa? 
Very  little  need  be  said  except  that  he  is  a  layman  that 
believes  in  giving  God  the  first  place.    Wherever  he 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        221 

has  been  or  worked,  his  church  and  his  Saviour  have 
always  had  the  pre-eminence.  And  God  has  blessed 
him  most  wonderfully,  giving  him  not  only  what  his 
heart  desired,  a  splendid  Christian  home,  but  also 
wealth  and  honors  that  he  has  laid  at  the  feet  of  the 
Master. 

I  knew  him  first  in  Rio,  when  he  was  working  as  a 
poor  bottle-washer  in  a  wine  shop.  Then  I  met  him 
in  the  city  of  Para,  where  he  was  manager  of  a  shoe 
shop.  In  spite  of  the  heat  and  great  amount  of  work, 
he  helped  to  build  up  the  local  church.  Afterwards  I 
met  him  in  Sao  Paulo,  in  Bahia  and  Rio  de  Janeiro, 
always  hard-working,  always  faithful  and  true  to  his 
Master  and  His  cause. 

A  few  years  ago  he  started  in  a  business  of  his 
own,  taking  God  as  partner.  His  business  grew  and 
before  long  instead  of  having  one  store  he  had  four. 

Today  he  is  director  of  one  of  the  largCvSt  shoe 
factories  in  Brazil. 

Oh,  how  men  of  such  a  type  (and  their  number  in 
Brazil  is  growing  rapidly)  can  help  one  to  continue 
in  the  great  work  of  preaching  the  Gospel !  May 
God's  richest  blessing  rest  upon  him  and  all  others 
like  him. 

Deacons  Paranagua  and  Miranda  Pinto. — It  would 
be  impossible  to  give  in  this  chapter  a  description  of 
all  the  lives  that  have  been  of  blessing  and  help  to  me 
in  the  work  in  Brazil — but  I  cannot  close  this  chapter 
without  writing  a  few  words  about  these  two  laymen. 
One  a  physician,  a  man  of  high  social  standing,  ex- 
povemor  and  ex-»enator    of    his   own    native  State, 


222        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

whose  life  has  been  of  such  remarkable  consequence 
to  our  cause  in  Brazil.  The  other  a  civil  engineer, 
holding  one  of  the  highest  positions  a  man  can  obtain 
in  an  English  railroad  company,  a  full  graduate  of  an 
American  Polytechnical  University  and  highly  re- 
lated socially  on  his  v^ife's  side  as  v^ell  as  his  own. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  stay  in  the  home  of  Dr. 
Parangua  for  over  six  months  and  watch  his  clean, 
pure  and  wholesome  life  from  close  quarters.  It  was 
simply  wonderful  to  witness  what  I  saw  with  my  own 
eyes  daily.  How  a  family  of  such  high  social  stand 
ing,  visited  continually  by  some  of  the  highest  of  the 
land  lived  the  simple  and  pure  gospel  life  is  still  a 
miracle  to  me.  Dr.  Paranagua  and  his  noble  wife,  a 
daughter  of  a  former  Swiss  Ambassador  to  Brazil, 
never  lost  an  opportunity  to  testify  for  the  Master. 
In  a  masterful  way  he  would  lead  the  conversation  to 
the  theme  that  was  uppermost  in  his  heart  and  then,  if 
I  were  in  the  house,  he  would  call  me  and  introduce 
me  to  the  party  that  I  might  speak  of  Jesus. 

And  what  he  did  in  his  home  he  was  doing  every- 
where he  went.  Sometimes  he  would  invite  me  to  visit 
the  Senate  or  House  of  Rpresentatives  and,  using  the 
privilege  of  the  House  as  former  Senator  of  the 
Republic,  take  me  into  the  private  chambers  of  his 
former  colleagues  and  introducing  me  haA'-e  me  speak 
of  the  Gospel  and  its  power  to  save.  He  was  untiring 
and  unceasing  in  his  testimony.  Once  I  found  him 
sitting  in  the  chair  of  a  shoe-black  and  while  the 
Italian  was  shining  his  shoe  he  was  reciting  to  him 
portions  of  his  New  Testament.    After  he  left  I  took 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        223 

the  same  chair  and  the  Italian  told  me  that  that  was 
almost  a  daily  custom.  When  I  informed  the  man 
who  Dr.  Paranagua  was  he  was  surprised.  He 
thought  Dr.  Paranagua  was  some  kind  of  a  religious 
worker. 

By  living  in  his  home  and  noticing  the  great  spiri- 
tual influence  of  such  a  life  upon  the  nation,  I  have 
been  encouraged  to  go  on  in  the  preaching  of  Christ 
to  such  a  people,  certain  that  the  victory  will  be  ours. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  things  about  this  man 
of  Gk)d  is  his  humility.  I  have  noted  with  surprise, 
and  yet  with  my  heart  overflowing  with  a  joy,  when 
I  saw  Dr.  Paranagua  as  deacon  in  the  First  Baptist 
church  work  side  by  side  with  deacon  Santa  Anna, 
whose  countenance  was  as  black  as  one  ever  saw,  but 
with  a  heart  as  white  as  snow.  It  is  inspiring, 
and  I  praise  God  for  the  power  of  Jesus'  blood  which 
even  today  can  work  such  a  marvel. 

The  first  time  I  saw  Brother  Miranda  Pinto  was 
when  he  was  Traffic  Manager  of  a  Brazilian  railroad 
that  had  its  headquarters  in  Campos,  where  I  was 
then  stationed.  One  of  my  boys — a  member  of  my 
church — brought  me  the  news  that  the  traffic  manager 
had  a  Bible  on  his  desk.  I  made  it  a  point  to  visit  him 
and  learned  from  him  that  he  had  been  in  the  States, 
having  taken  a  six-year  course  in  the  Boston  Poly- 
technic Institute,  from  which  he  graduated  in  Civil 
Engineering. 

When  I  moved  to  Pernambuco,  Brother  Pinto 
moved  with  his  family  to  Nictheroy,  where  Dr.  Entz- 
minger  had  reorganized  our  Baptist  work,  which  had 


224       A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

relapsed,  and  was  pastor  of  the  Nicthcroy  Baptist 
church.  Through  the  good  offices  of  one  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  Dr.  Entzminger  and  Brother  Pinto 
became  acquainted  and  the  acquaintance  soon  ripened 
into  lasting  friendship.  By  patient  and  perscrvcring 
effort,  Brother  Pinto  was  led  step  by  step  into  ac- 
ceptance of  Christ  as  his  Saviour,  and,  despite  the  op- 
position of  his  own  family  and  numerous  relatives  and 
friends,  he  accepted  baptism  and  for  many  years  was 
the  most  prominent  member  and  worker  in  the  little 
church  in  Nictheroy  serving  for  several  years  as  dea- 
con. Brother  Pinto's  wife,  though  a  fervent  Catholic, 
was  soon  so  impressed  by  the  remarkable  change  that 
had  taken  place  in  her  husband,  that  she  too  accepted 
Christ  and  received  baptism.  One  by  one  their  eight 
children  have  been  converted  and  have  become  mem- 
bers of  the  church.  Today  the  Pinto  family  is  one  of 
the  model  Christian  homes  in  all  Brazil,  known  far 
and  wide  among  our  Baptist  brotherhood  for  its  zeal 
and  good  works.  Wherever  Brother  Pinto  goes,  he 
stands  four-square  for  the  Gospel  of  his  Master  and 
Lord  and  is  a  tower  of  strength  in  his  denomination. 
He  takes  a  deep  interest  in  every  phase  of  church 
work,  but  if  there  is  one  thing  he  especially  emphasizes 
it  is  the  Sunday  school.  To  his  way  of  thinking,  the 
Sunday  school  can  render  the  most  effective  service 
for  the  spreading  of  the  Gospel  in  Brazil.  In  the 
church  of  which  he  is  an  efficient  deacon,  he  is  also 
Sunday  school  superintendent,  and  to  it  he  gives  him- 
self, whole-heartedly.  To  be  able  to  develop  the  Sun- 
day school  of  his  church  in  all  its  departments  he 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL       225 

rented  a  house  across  the  street  from  the  church, 
fitted  it  up  with  every  necessary  article — organ,  black- 
boards, cards,  maps,  charts  and  so  on,  all  at  his  own 
expense,  and  today  he  has  the  joy  of  knowing  that  his 
Sunday  school  is  not  only  one  of  the  largest,  but  also, 
by  far,  one  of  the  most  efficient  in  Brazil. 

Oh,  it  is  a  joy  to  be  with  him  and  watch  him  work 
for  the  Master ! 

Drs.  R.  J.  Willingham  and  T.  B.  Ray.— -I  cannot 
fail  to  mention  the  names  of  two  of  our  secretaries  in 
the  homeland  who  have  wielded  such  a  decided  in- 
fluence for  good,  not  only  upon  my  life,  but  upon  all 
of  the  Baptist  work  in  Brazil. 

It  seems  to  me  as  if  it  were  only  yesterday  that  I 
was  kneeling  in  the  office  of  our  Foreign  Mission 
Board  together  with  dear  Dr.  Willingham  and  with 
one  of  his  hands  on  my  head  I  heard  him  offer  the 
most  touching  and  heart-felt  prayer  for  my  welfare 
and  work.  He  was  a  friend  indeed  and  his  influence 
upon  my  life  has  been  profound.  Often  when  dif- 
ficulties and  trials  would  abound  and  my  heart  would 
almost  fail,  a  letter  would  appear  from  that  man  of 
God  full  of  encouragement  and  cheer  and  I  would  con- 
tinue my  task  happy  and  satisfied. 

And  what  shall  I  say  about  dear  Dr.  Ray.  What 
his  life  and  friendship  has  been  to  me  personally  it 
is  impossible  to  relate.  Ever  since  it  was  my  privilege 
to  know  him  and  for  three  months  tour  with  him 
over  some  of  the  fields  in  Brazil,  I  have  loved  him  and 
opened  to  him  my  heart's  troubles  and  aspirations. 
He  has  been  a  real  brother  in  need  and  a  sane  adviser 


226         A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

in  all  of  my  difficulties.  Oh,  how  often  have  I  praised 
the  heavenly  Father  for  the  gift  of  such  a  friend! 
And  I  do  so,  even  now,  praying  God's  richest  and 
choicest  blessings  upon  him  and  his  great  work. 

Companions  Innumerable. — I  wish  that  I  had  space 
to  write  something  worth  while  of  everyone  of  my 
missionary  companions  in  Brazil,  especially  of  those 
with  whom  it  has  been  my  privilege  to  work,  but  I 
must  be  brief  or  else  this  book  will  be  too  voluminous 
to  handle.  However,  a  few  words  I  must  say,  for 
everyone  of  them  has  been  a  blessing  to  me  per- 
sonally and  I  hope  by  enumerating  them  to  enable  the 
reader  to  see  how  our  Baptist  work  is  distributed  in 
Brazil.  I  will  cite  them  beginning  with  the  field  in 
the  extreme  south  of  Brazil. 

Rio  Grande  do  Sul. — While  Corresponding  Secre- 
tary of  the  Brazilian  Home  Board  I  received  an  urgent 
call  to  visit  a  small  group  of  Baptists  in  the  city  of 
Porto  Alegre,  capital  of  that  great  State.  I  was  un- 
able to  leave  my  work,  so  I  telegraphed  to  Brother 
A.  L.  Dunstan  then  working  in  Sao  Paulo,  and  asked 
him  to  visit  those  brethren.  I  offered  to  pay  his  ex- 
penses from  the  Home  Board  fund.  He  went  and  the 
great  opportunities,  the  wide-open  door  so  impressed 
him  that  he  resolved  to  move  his  work  to  that  part 
of  Brazil.  This  move  has  been  signally  blessed  of 
God.  Brother  Dunstan,  with  untiring  energy,  has 
established  the  Baptist  cause  in  that  region.  I  am 
glad  to  learn  that  Brother  R.  A.  Clifton  and  wife  are 
to  be  located  in  Rio  Grande  do  Sul.  There  are  now 
about  a  dozen  churches,  mostly  self-supporting,  and 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        227 

a  great  many  preaching  places.    The  future  of  that 
field  is  wonderfully  bright. 

Parana  and  Santa  Catharina  Field. — When  Brother 
Deter  was  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  same  Home 
Mission  Board,  a  call  came  from  a  few  independent 
Baptist  churches,  situated  in  the  State  of  Parana,  to 
visit  them  and  help  them  to  join  the  Brazilian  Bap- 
tist Convention.  Brother  Deter  went  and,  after  re- 
maining with  them  for  about  a  month,  left  the  field 
organized  and  duly  affiliated  with  our  convention. 
Brother  Pettigrew  was  asked  to  move  into  that  State, 
and  later  Brother  Deter  himself,  moved  his  head- 
quarters to  the  capital  of  that  State.  Today  there 
are  a  great  Baptist  host  in  that  field,  promising  won- 
derful things  for  the  near  future.  Brother  Deter  lately 
organized  a  regional  convention,  embracing  the  two 
neighboring  States  in  which  also  joined  several  Ger- 
man and  Lettish  Baptist  churches.  It  has  been  my 
privilege  to  be  with  both  of  those  brethren,  abiding  in 
their  homes  and  preaching  in  their  churches,  as  well 
as  pleading  together  in  heartfelt  communion  before 
the  Throne  of  Grace.  Consecrated  men  of  God,  they 
are  both  striving  earnestly  to  advance  the  Kingdom  of 
God  in  that  great  field. 

Sao  Paulo  Field. — Here  we  have  living  and  working 
the  Bagbys,  Taylors,  Edwards,  Ingrams  and  Jacksons. 
How  I  wish  that  I  had  space  enough  to  do  justice  to 
everyone  of  these  consecrated  and  faithful  men,  who 
are  accomplishing,  in  their  respective  fields  of  labor, 
wonderful  things  for  the  Master.  But  I  must  be  brief 
with  only  a  few  lines  about  everyone  of  those. 


228        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

I  cannot  refrain  from  giving  a  more  extended  notice 
to  Dr.  and  Mrs.  W.  B.  Bagby,  who  are  our  oldest  mis- 
sionaries in  Brazil.  They  went  to  Brazil  in  1881. 
Their  forty  years  of  service  have  had  in  them  the 
thrilling  experiences  which  come  to  pioneer  mission- 
aries and,  of  late,  the  satisfaction  arising  out  of  a 
substantially  developed  work.  They  went  first  to 
Santa  Barbara,  the  American  colony  in  the  South. 
When  Dr.  Z.  C.  Taylor  came  in  1882,  they  moved  to 
Bahia,  where  the  Bagbys  remained  for  over  a  year, 
and  then  moved  to  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  gave  them- 
selves to  the  establishment  of  our  cause  in  that  great 
capital  city.  Dr.  Bagby  fostered  also  the  work  in  the 
regions  around  about  Rio  with  tireless  activity. 

When  the  Bagbys  returned  from  their  furlough  in 
1901,  they  located  in  Sao  Paulo,  the  capital  of  the 
State  by  the  same  name.  In  the  following  year  (1902) 
they  launched  the  now  celebrated  Sao  Paulo  College 
for  Women,  the  headship  of  which  Brother  E.  A. 
Ingram  has  recently  accepted. 

Their  lives  and  work  show  a  splendid  record.  After 
forty  years  of  faithful  toil,  they  can  look  back  over 
the  past  and  recall  many  triumphs  of  the  Lord's  cause, 
in  which  they  were  permitted  to  have  a  large  share. 
No  one  should  get  the  impression,  however,  that  the 
work  of  the  Bagbys  is  done.  Even  after  making  a 
record  of  such  length,  they  press  forward  still,  with 
the  undaunted  activity  of  youth. 

Speaking  of  the  Bagbys,  I  must  not  forget  the 
young  Bagbys.  T.  C.  Bagby  is  building  up  a  great 
church  in  the  city  of  Santos.    Fearless,  and  with  an 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        229 

unbounding  zeal,  he  is  preaching  the  Gospel  and  win- 
ning souls  for  Christ  continually.  Alice  Bagby,  the 
accomplished  daughter  of  the  elder  Bagby's,  has  re- 
cently been  appointed  to  service  in  the  Sao  Paulo 
Girls'  School,  a  work  for  which  she  is  peculiarly  well 
fitted. 

Dr.  J.  J.  Taylor  is  another  veteran  who  can  look 
back  upon  his  thirty  years  of  labor  in  Brazil  with 
satisfaction  and  joy.  The  great  secret  of  Brother 
Taylor's  work  is  his  knack  of  winning  the  confidence 
and  love  of  the  natives.  They  go  to  him  with  all 
their  trouble  and  he  sends  them  away  happy  and  sat- 
isfied. An  excellent  writer,  a  profound  student  and 
scholar,  he  is  now  giving  to  the  Baptists  in  Brazil,  as 
editor  of  our  Sunday  school  Uterature,  the  best  of  his 
life. 

F.  M.  Edwards  is  known  in  Brazil  as  the  "Sledge 
Hammer"  Evangelist.  One  should  hear  him  when  his 
heart  is  set  on  fire  and  he  seems  to  grip  the  audience 
v/ith  a  power  divine.  He  is  a  great  worker  and  soul- 
winner,  having  accomplished  an  abiding  work  for 
Brazil.  One  of  the  greatest  delights  in  my  life  is 
when  I  have  the  privilege  of  visiting  his  home  and 
his  people.  Every  morning  we  would  spend  an  hour 
or  so  together  in  the  study  of  the  Word  of  God  and 
in  intercession  before  the  Throne  of  Grace.  Those 
were  moments  of  spiritual  uplift  that  have  helped  me 
on  my  life's  way. 

E.  A.  Ingram  is  the  director  of  the  Brazilian  Baptist 
Woman's  College.  "Happy  Ingram"  was  his  nick- 
name in  Baylor  University,  and  he  is  certainly  doing 


230        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

his  utmost  to  keep  up  that  title.  I  have  never  seen 
him  upset.  He  is  always  bubbling  over  with  happi- 
ness and  joy.  It  is  a  great  dehght  to  spend  a  few 
days  in  his  lovely  home.  He  is  in  charge  of  the 
Woman's  College  of  Brazil,  and  one  of  the  greatest 
marvels  to  me  has  been,  to  see  how  he  and  his  excel- 
lent wife,  after  a  very  short  period  in  the  country, 
have  taken  hold  of  that  great  institution  and  are  mak- 
ing good. 

The  E.  A.  Jacksons  have  been  living  in  Sao  Paulo 
until  recently  they  have  moved.  Their  held  of  labor  is 
in  the  State  of  Matto  Grosso.  Full  of  zeal  and  self- 
sacrifice,  the  Jacksons  are  building  up  a  great  work 
in  that  far-away  western  State. 

I  must  not  forget  my  young  friend  Stanton,  one  of 
the  young  missionaries,  also  stationed  in  this  field, 
making  his  headquarters  in  the  interior  city  of 
Ribeirao  Preto,  a  very  important  commercial  center. 
Although  new  in  the  field,  he  is  building  up  a  strong 
Baptist  church,  in  spite  of  great  obstacles. 

The  Campos  Field. — There  are  two  missionary 
couples  in  this  great  Mission  Station — the  Christies 
and  the  Bratchers.  The  first  giving  themselves  to 
evangelistic  work,  and  the  other  to  educational. 

To  describe  the  life  and  work  of  these  men  would 
need  a  volume.  These  men  have  built  wisely  and 
established  a  v/ork  that  is  now  self-supporting  in  al- 
most all  of  its  departments.  Sixty  churches  with  only 
two  or  three  receiving  a  little  help  from  the  State 
Board;  over  one  hundred  Mission  Stations  that  will 
be  churches  in  the  near  future;  a  Baptist  Hospital, 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        231 

established  and  financed  by  the  native  believers,  etc., 
etc.,  this  is  the  story  these  men  can  tell.  Brother 
Christie,  the  older  of  the  two,  is  a  great  power,  a  real 
missionary  statesman,  a  worker  that  need  not  be 
ashamed. 

The  Victoria  Field. — Some  day  some  one  will  write 
the  history  of  this  Mission  field,  when  it  will  be  shown 
that  the  work  done  by  the  Renos  has  perhaps  no 
equal  in  the  annals  of  missionary  work  in  South 
America.  It  has  been  my  privilege  to  be  with  them 
and  in  their  lovely  home  several  times — to  preach  for 
them,  and  travel  with  them  all  over  that  great  field. 
Consecrated,  self-sacrificing  and  diligent,  they  have 
built  up  a  work  that  has  stood  great  persecutions  and 
will  stand  firm  until  the  end.  The  greatest  asset  in 
that  field  is  the  spiritual  life  of  the  missionaries,  re- 
flected and  reproduced  in  the  lives  of  the  natives. 
Honored  and  respected  by  both  converts  and  unbe- 
lievers, they  are  making  the  Baptist  name  esteemed 
and  the  name  of  the  Master  revered. 

The  Minas  Field. — Here  we  have  four  missionary 
couples :  The  Maddoxes,  Crosslands,  Aliens  and  Mor- 
gans. The  two  latter  couples  are  new  in  the  work, 
having  only  lately  arrived  on  the  field. ,  Both  Brother 
Crossland  and  Brother  Maddox  have  done  a  great 
work  in  Brazil  and  are  building  up  a  very  well  or- 
ganized mission  field  in  the  great  State  of  Minas, 
perhaps  the  largest  in  the  Brazilian  nation.  Both  men 
are  intensely  evangelistic  and  both  are  strictly  ortho- 
dox, believing  in  a  whole  Gospel  with  a  complete  Bap- 
tist program.    Both  have  wrought  valiantly  and  ac- 


232       A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

complishcd  great  tbings,  and  are  destined  to  do  yet 
greater  things  for  Christ  and  the  Baptists. 

The  Rio  de  Janeiro  Field. — I  have  already  men- 
tioned some  of  the  workers  stationed  in  Rio  de  Janeiro, 
but  I  must  not  forget  to  mention  the  others  who  are 
toiling  most  effectively  in  that  great  metropolis- — the 
heart  of  Brazil. 

There  is  Dr.  A.  B.  Langston,  dean  of  our  Seminary 
and  pastor  of  one  of  the  most  progressive  churches — 
untiring,  lovcable,  studious  and  sincerely  loved  and 
honored  by  all  that  come  to  know  him  intimately. 

In  Rio  we  also  have  Brother  S.  L.  Watson,  lately 
elected  Secretary  of  our  Publishing  Enterprise,  but 
for  the  last  six  years  efficient  professor  in  our  College 
and  Seminary.  In  the  absence  of  Dr.  J.  W.  Shepard, 
Brother  Watson  was  in  charge  of  the  great  Rio  Col- 
lege and  Seminary  and  for  two  terms  proved  himself 
a  great  administrator,  gaining  the  confidence  and  ad- 
miration of  everyone. 

We  also  have  in  Rio  de  Janeiro  the  Bakers.  Brother 
Baker,  besides  his  work  in  the  College,  to  which  he 
gives  most  of  his  time,  is  also  pastor  of  one  of  the 
city  churches.  These  two  positions  would  be  more 
than  enough  for  any  man,  but  he  is  also  Secretary 
of  the  South  Brazil  Mission,  Treasurer  of  the  Rio  de 
Janeiro  field,  and  nsember  of  innumerable  Boards. 
Unceasing  in  his  labors,  full  of  zeal  and  devotion,  he 
gives  his  time  and  his  all  to  the  Master  and  His 
cause.  It  has  been  my  privilege  to  live  with  and 
know    him    in   his    lovely  home,  and  often    have    I 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL       233 

praised  God  for  such  men  and  lives  as  that  of  the 
Bakers. 

In  Rio  de  Janeiro  we  have  also  the  Kites.  Brother 
Kites  began  preaching  when  only  two  months  on  the 
field.  Ke  has  a  wonderfully  clear  mind  and  although 
very  new  on  the  field,  is  already  doing  a  great  work. 

I  must  not  forget  Miss  Ruth  Randall,  the  capable 
secretary  and  bookkeeper  of  our  College  and  Semi- 
nary ;  Mrs.  Soren,  who,  besides  the  great  work  in  the 
church  where  her  husband  is  pastor,  is  looking  after 
the  one  hundred  and  fifty  or  more  girls  in  our  Girls' 
School,  who  look  to  her  for  inspiration  and  help. 

The  latest  addition  to  the  Rio  forces  is  Brother 
J.  J.  Cowsert,  who  has  gone  there  to  lead  in  the 
evangelistic  work. 

I  wish  that  I  could  also  tell  of  the  work  that  our 
missionary  women  are  doing — Mrs.  Shepard,  the 
councilor,  adviser,  and  untiring  helper  of  her  husband ; 
Mrs.  Watson,  the  corresponding  secretary  of  the  W. 
M.  U.  of  Brazil ;  Mrs.  Langston,  the  treasurer  of  our 
W.  M.  U. ;  and  so  on,  but  I  must  hasten  and  say  a 
few  words  about  the  brethren  in  North  Brazil. 

Th©  Bahia  Field.— Just  now  we  have  on  this  great 
field— the  Whites,  the  Stapps,  and  Brother  Sherwood. 

Brother  Sherwood  is  new  on  the  field  and  is  trying 
hard  to  get  a  grip  on  the  language  and  is  succeeding. 
He  is  the  kind  of  a  man  that  does  not  easily  give  way 
and  will  succeed  or  die  in  the  attempt.  I  spent  a  few 
days  with  him  while  passing  through  Bahia  and  fell 
in  love  with  him.  I  am  sure  that  he  will  make  good 
and  will  be  heard  from  ere  long. 


234        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

As  to  the  Whites,  how  they  kept  up,  all  by  them- 
selves, such  a  great  field  as  the  Bahia  Mission,  is  a 
marvel.  There  are  over  forty  churches  in  that  field 
and  more  than  a  hundred  preaching  places.  Traveling 
facilities  are  very  poor.  Just  imagine  one  man  in  a 
State  as  large  as  Texas,  v^ith  only  a  few  hundred 
miles  of  railways  and  you  can  realize  the  task  that 
Brother  White  has  on  his  hands.  That  the  work  in 
that  field  has  not  suffered,  but  really  gone  forward, 
is  a  proof  of  the  tenacity  of  purpose  of  the  man  sta- 
tioned there. 

The  Stapps  have  lately  moved  their  tent  into  a 
neighboring  State,  the  smallest  in  the  Brazilian  Union, 
yet  the  most  densely  populated,  that  of  Sergipe.  A 
flourishing  work  is  going  on  in  that  section.  Brother 
Stapp  is  gaining  the  love  and  trust  not  only  of  the 
workers,  but  also  of  the  converts  and  is  helping  to 
establish  a  very  prosperous  work  for  the  Master  in 
that  region. 

The  Alagoas  Field. — Before  choosing  this  field  as 
his  sphere  of  labor.  Brother  John  Mein  was  doing 
excellent  work  in  the  Campos  Mission.  He  endeared 
himself  greatly  to  the  natives  and  was  anxiously  ex- 
pected by  the  believers  of  his  new  field.  Active,  zeal- 
ous, consecrated,  and  spiritual,  he  is  accompHshing 
great  things  in  this  new  field  so  wonderfully  ripe  for 
the  harvest. 

The  Pernambuco  Field. — I  have  already  mentioned 
the  work  the  Muirheads  are  doing.  Besides  these, 
there  are  stationed  in  this  field,  the  Hamiltons,  the 
W.  C.  Taylors,  the  Johnsons,  Miss  Pauline  White, 


•A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        235 

who  is  in  charge  of  the  Woman's  Training  School,  and 
some  new  missionaries  sent  out  lately,  that  1  have  not 
met,  and  whose  names  only  I  can  give.  They  are 
Professor  and  Mrs.  A.  E.  Hayes,  Professor  and  Mrs. 
R.  S.  Jones,  Miss  Essie  Fuller,  Miss  Bertha  Lee  Hunt 
and  Rev.  and  Mrs.  E.  G.  Wilcox. 

I  remember  meeting  Brother  Hamilton  and  his  good 
wife  in  Texas,  soon  after  the  death  of  his  saintly 
brother  and  when  he  had  offered  himself  to  the  For- 
eign Mission  Board  as  a  substitute  for  his  brother. 
He  was  then  superintendent  of  schools  in  Georgetown 
county.  I  could  not  fail  to  admire  his  courage  and 
determination.  I  have  been  in  his  home  at  various 
times  and  my  admiration  for  him  has  deepened  more 
and  more.  He  is  a  great  worker  and  has  made  his 
life  of  great  value  to  the  Kingdom's  work  in  Brazil. 
Capable,  hard-working,  and  full  of  faith,  he  has  made 
good  in  every  position  he  has  occupied. 

Brother  W.  C.  Taylor,  as  dean  of  the  Pernambuco 
Seminary,  is  wielding  a  wide  influence  upon  the  work, 
and  the  future  manhood  of  the  great  North  of  Brazil. 
Well  prepared  for  the  important  work  of  training 
native  helpers,  he  has  given  himself  unstintedly  to  it 
and  is  making  a  most  gratifying  success.  Not  con- 
tent with  his  teaching  and  preaching,  he  is  also  writ- 
ing and  translating  several  books  of  great  value. 
Brother  Taylor's  coming  to  Brazil  has  been  a  great 
blessing  and  we  expect  from  him  yet  greater  things. 

I  have  not  had  an  opportunity  to  be  much  with 
the  Johnsons.  I  saw  him  only  once  and  that  at  a 
convention.    But  good  reports  about  his  life  and  work 


236        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

can  be  heard  from  all  over  the  field.  He  was  in  charge 
of  the  evangelistic  work,  visiting  the  churches  and 
opening  up  new  places.  All  the  natives  speak  highly 
of  his  zeal,  knowledge,  and  spiritual  life. 

Miss  Pauline  White  is  doing  a  notable  work  among 
the  thirty  or  forty  young  ladies  that  are  sent  by  the 
churches  to  be  trained  for  the  Master's  service.  All 
the  girls  love  her.  Her  love  for  the  girls  equals  that 
of  a  mother.  It  was  my  privilege  to  be  in  the  college 
for  about  two  weeks  and  see  her  spiritual  influence 
upon  the  girls  and  I  could  not  but  praise  God  for  such 
a  life  and  such  a  gift  to  Brazil. 

The  Maranhao  Field. — Almost  directly  under  the 
equator  you  will  find  the  young  Parkers  in  charge  of 
a  district  that  embraces  three  of  the  largest  States — 
that  of  Ceara,  Maranhao,  and  the  North  of  Piauhy. 
Alone,  with  almost  no  native  help,  they  work  and 
struggle  day  and  night,  to  keep  up  the  great  work. 
How  they  do  need  re-enforcement!  It  makes  one's 
heart  ache  to  see  them  there  alone — yet  they  are  not 
discouraged.  Happy,  full  of  faith  and  full  of  zeal, 
they  continue  to  preach  the  unsearchable  riches  ot 
Christ  to  poor  lost  souls  and  the  Lord  is  graciously 
blessing  their  efiForts. 

The  Amazon  Valley. — I  have  mentioned  in  another 
chapter  the  great  work  Brother  Nelson  is  accomplish- 
ing in  the  Amazon  District.  This  is  just  to  add  that 
Brother  Nelson  lately  returned  to  his  field  of  labor 
the  happy  possessor  of  a  river  launch  in  which  he  ex- 
pects to  live,  move  and  have  his  being,  traveling  up 
and  down  the  mighty  rivers  of  the  great  Amazon 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        237 

valley.  Few,  except  those  that  have  visited  that 
region,  can  realize  the  courage  and  determination  ne- 
cessary for  such  an  undertaking;  but  Brother  Nelson 
is  a  man  of  faith  and  a  man  of  God.  He  goes  trust- 
ing in  the  One  who  has  all  power  in  heaven  and  on 
earth  and  who  has  promised  to  be  near  him.  In  our 
prayers  let  us  not  forget  this  servant  of  God  as  he 
travels  all  through  the  Amazon  valley  and  through 
the  virgin  forests  of  Brazil. 

The  Interior  Mission.— About  a  thousand  miles 
away  from  the  coast,  in  the  great  interior  of  Brazil, 
you  will  find  two  more  missionary  couples — the  Down- 
ings,  and  Terrys.  They  are  trying  to  establish  an 
Industrial  School  for  the  benefit  of  the  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  Brazilians  who  never  had  an  opportunit}/ 
to  study.  Brother  Downing  is  a  skillful  physician 
and,  with  his  surgical  skill,  is  not  only  helping  in 
the  school,  but  is  also  drawing  many  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  Great  Physician,  who  not  only  can  cure  the 
bodies,  but  also  their  souls.  Brother  Terry  is  an  ef- 
fective preacher  and  evangelist,  having  already  done 
a  great  work  in  the  North  of  Piauhy. 

With  that  Industrial  School  established  and  equip- 
ped, at  Corrente,  a  great  center  for  Christ  will  be  or- 
ganized in  the  very  heart  of  Brazil,  whose  spiritual, 
moral,  and  social  influences  will  affect  the  whole  vast 
and  almost  untouched  interior.  What  an  opportunity 
and  whpt  a  future  awaits  the  Baptists ! 


CHAPTER  IX. 

BRAZIL  AS   A   MISSION   FIELD   AND   WHAT 
THE  BAPTISTS  ARE  DOING  THERE. 

Catholicism  the  Greatest  Obstacle  to  Christianity. — 
Why  did  I  go  to  Brazil  and  what  led  me  to  that  part 
of  the  world  instead  of  to  the  work  among  the  Jews? 

The  answer  can  be  given  in  a  very  few  words. 

In  the  first  place,  as  to  my  working  among  Catho- 
lics instead  of  Jews,  my  answer  is  that  1  am  con- 
vinced that  no  converted  Jew  ought  to  work  among 
the  Jews.  His  mission  is  to  the  Gentiles,  to  those 
who  know  not  the  Messiah,  the  Saviour  of  the  World. 
Of  course,  there  are  some  converted  Jews  that  are 
able  to  do  a  great  work  among  their  brethren  accord- 
ing to  the  flesh — but  their  mission  and  usefulness  is 
greatly  limited.  They  could  have  accomplished  a  great 
deal  more  if  they  had  given  themselves  entirely  to  the 
work  among  the  unregenerated  Gentiles. 

Paul,  the  Apostle,  the  most  eloquent  and  competent 
of  the  Lord's  disciples  had  to  turn  his  back  upon  his 
brethren  according  to  the  flesh  and  labor  among  the 
lost  Gentiles.  His  life  and  work  stand  until  this  day 
as  a  monument  of  blessing  and  power. 

This  same  result  is  noticeable,  though  in  not  such 
a  wonderful  degree,  in  the  labors  of  each  converted 
Hebrew,  who  has  given  himself  to  the  work  of  evan- 
gelization, among  the  Gentiles.     Take,  as  examples: 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        239 

Mosheim,  the  historian;  Edersheim,  the  theologian; 
Saphir,  Schwartz,  and  many  others,  in  all  parts  of 
the  world. 

It  was  this  conviction  that  made  me  turn  my  back 
to  the  work  among  my  brethren  according  to  the  flesh. 

Why  then  did  I  go  to  work  among  the  Catholics? 
Why  not  to  the  teeming  millions  of  China?  For  the 
simple  reason  that  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
greatest  obstacles  to  the  conversion  of  the  Jews  (and 
Gentiles  also),  and,  therefore,  the  greatest  obstacles  to 
the  evangelization  of  the  world,  is  the  Catholic  church, 
with  its  claim  of  being  Christian  and  yet  with  its 
idolatry,  its  materialistic  customs  and  traditions,  and 
its  degrading  superstitions. 

If  there  is  one  thing  that  is  drilled  into  a  young 
Jewish  heart  it  is  hatred  towards  the  worship  of 
idols.  His  very  instinct  and  nature  revolt  against  this 
practice. 

Catholics  Worship  Idols. — I  will  never  forget  an 
incident  that  happened  to  me  as  I  was  once  walking 
with  my  father  through  the  streets  of  Warsaw.  We 
were  passing  a  Catholic  church  out  of  which  a  great 
number  of  people  were  issuing.  He  took  me  into  the 
building  and  called  my  attention  to  the  multitude  of 
persons  kneeling  and  praying  to  an  idol  in  the  form 
of  a  human  body  that  was  stretched  out  under  the 
altar.  He  asked  me  if  I  remembered  the  ten  com- 
mandments. I  answered  in  the  affirmative.  He  then 
asked  me  to  repeat  to  him  the  second  commandment 
and  I  did.     Then  he  said:  "These  Christians  affirm 


240        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

that  theirs  is  the  true  religion;  but  you  have  sense 
enough  to  see  how  far  they  are  from  the  truth." 

CathoUcism  is  pure  and  plain  idolatry.  You  can 
call  the  idol  "Diana"  or  "Mary,"  "Jupiter"  or 
"Peter,"  it  is  an  idol  about  which  the  Psalmist  plamly 
speaks  in  the  115th  Psalm:  "They  have  mouths,  but 
they  speak  not;  eyes  have  they,  but  they  see  not; 
they  have  ears,  but  they  hear  not  .  .  .  they  have 
hands,  but  they  handle  not  .  .  .  they  that  make 
them  are  like  unto  them;  so  is  everyone  that  trusteth 
in  them." 

It  was  in  the  city  of  Braga,  Portugal,  that  I  visited 
a  church  edifice  built  by  the  Romans  in  the  time  of 
the  Emperor  Trajan,  who  lived  before  Christ.  There 
I  saw  two  idols  that  in  the  time  of  Pagan  Rome  were 
called  Janos  and  Jupiter,  but  these  were  worshipped 
now  by  the  Roman  Catholics  under  the  changed  titles 
of  Saint  John  and  Saint  Peter. 

To  combat  this  idolatry,  worse  than  pagan,  be- 
cause of  its  Christian  veneer ;  to  make  known  the  true 
God  and  His  beloved  Son,  the  Messiah,  the  Saviour 
of  Mankind,  was  what  drew  me  to  work  among 
Catholics. 

Brazil  the  Most  Neglected  Mission  Field. — ^Then, 
also,  Brazil  was  thirty  years  ago  and  is  today,  one  of 
the  most  neglected  mission  fields  in  the  world. 

In  1890  very  few  missionaries  or  Mission  Boards 
were  working  in  Brazil.  The  Baptists  had  only  a  few 
couples  of  missionaries  with  a  small  number  of 
churches,  in  that  great  and  immense  field,  a  country 
larger  in  territory  than  this  United  States  of  ours. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL       241 

...  I 
And  even  today,  with  the  number  of  missionaries 
greatly  increased  we  have  only  about  twenty  or 
twenty-five  men  who  are  dedicating  themselves  to 
evangelism — twenty-five  to  about  twenty-five  millions, 
or  one  missionary  to  a  million  souls. 

It  was  this  fact  that  drew  me  to  Brazil,  the  most 
neglected  field  in  the  Neglected  Continent,  and  I  do 
thank  God  for  having  led  me  there.  I  look  back  upon 
my  thirty  years  of  labors  in  Brazil,  upon  the  great 
changes  that  have  taken  place,  on  the  marvelous 
growth  of  the  cause  of  the  Master  and  feel  like  prais- 
ing and  magnifying  His  name  for  having  permitted 
me  to  have  some  part,  though  really  a  very  little  part, 
in  that  work. 

In  a  very  few  words  I  wish  to  close  this  book  with 
a  short  statement  about  Brazil  and  its  people,  some 
of  our  problems  and  plans  of  work  as  well  as  the 
progress  made  by  the  Baptists  up  to  the  present  time. 
I  am  sure  that  it  will  not  only  be  interesting,  but  very 
helpful  to  those  who  wish  to  have  a  part  in  the  evan- 
gelization of  the  many  millions  who  live  in  Brazil, 
as  well  as  help  us  to  prepare  the  ground  for  the  mil- 
lions who  are  pouring  into  Brazil  and  who  in  the  next 
few  decades  will  take  possesion  of  this  great  land, 
"The  Future  Storehouse  of  the  World." 

Physical  Aspects  of  Brazil— Take  a  glance  at  the 
map  of  Brazil  and  notice  that  the  immense  west  with 
its  rich,  fertile  lands  is  still  unexplored.  Yet  hidden 
in  those  virgin  forests  are  treasures  untold.  In  the 
Amazon  district  you  will  find  the  Manisoba  tree  that 
yields  rubber  which  has  no  equal  in  the  entire  world. 


242        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

Add  to  this  innumerable  specimens  of  timber,  whose 
excellency  is  incomparable,  and  that  is  just  beginning 
to  be  exported  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 

To  the  south  of  the  Amazon  district  you  find  the 
vast  cotton  areas  in  the  States  of  Maranhao,  Ceara, 
Rio  Grande  do  Norte  and  Parahyba. 

In  the  State  of  Pernambuco,  and  as  far  south  as 
the  San  Francisco  river,  you  will  find  sugar-cane, 
cotton,  and  rice  in  great  abundance.  In  Bahia  you 
will  see  tobacco  fields  producing  the  finest  leaves  in 
the  world  and  Cacao  groves  that  yield  the  finest  beans 
for  chocolate.  The  rivers  are  full  of  precious  dia- 
monds and  the  earth  is  full  of  gold,  copper,  coal,  and 
so  on. 

And  what  shall  I  say  of  Sao  Paulo  with  its  millions 
of  coffee  trees  and  Parana  with  its  forests  abounding 
in  pine,  and  Minas  with  its  inexhaustible  mines  of 
iron  and  manganese,  gold  and  precious  stones,  and 
Matto  Grosso  with  its  cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills 
and  prairies  full  of  horses  of  the  finest  breed. 

Brazil  is  no  doubt,  a  veritable  land  of  Goshen,  a  land 
flowing  with  milk  and  honey,  destined  by  the  Creator 
to  play  a  great  role  in  the  history  of  the  world. 

The  People  of  Brazil. — Four  traits,  among  many 
other  characteristics,  are  predominant  among  the 
BraziHan  people,  due  no  doubt  to  their  historical  make- 
up or  sociological  formation,  and  these  are:  intelli- 
gence, courage,  refinement  and  sacrifice. 

The  Brazilians,  as  a  rule,  are  exceptionally  in- 
telligent. I  am  not  saying  that  they  are  learned,  for 
unfortunately,  on  account  of  their  leaders,  especially 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        243 

the  priests  who  fear  education  and  knowledge,  there 
are  only,  according  to  the  latest  census,  about  15  per 
cent  of  the  people  who  can  read  and  write.  But  when 
given  an  opportunity  they  manifest  a  quickness  of  per- 
ception, a  clearness  of  mind  and  a  readiness  to  learn 
that  is  surprising  indeed. 

Among  the  better  classes  there  are  very  few  that 
do  not  speak  more  than  one  language.  They  have 
physicians,  lawyers  and  engineers  that  rank  with  the 
greatest  in  the  world.  Few  will  have  forgotten  the 
masterful  way  the  Brazilian  lawyer  and  Senator  Ruy 
Barbosa  surprised  the  world  at  the  Hague  Conference 
with  his  profound  knowledge  of  and  courageous  stand 
for  the  principles  of  justice  and  right.  He  fought  and 
victoriously  obtained  equal  rights  for  the  smaller 
nations. 

To  realize  the  extraordinary  capacity  of  its  civil 
engineers,  all  you  have  to  do  is  to  visit  some  of  their 
engineering  feats  in  Brazil,  like  the  Central  Railway 
with  its  thirteen  double  tunnels  or  the  railroad  that 
climbs  up  the  hills  from  Paranagua  to  Curityba,  in  the 
State  of  Parana. 

One  of  the  most  encouraging  things  in  our  mis- 
sionary work  is  to  see  the  transformation  that  takes 
place  in  the  youth  that  are  sent  from  the  Brazilian 
lands  to  our  colleges  and  seminaries.  They  learn 
readily  and  rapidly  and,  after  finishing  their  courses, 
they  become  powers  for  good  in  the  great  work  of 
building  up  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  Brazil. 

Then,  also,  the  Brazilians  are  very  courageous. 
Brazilian  history  tells  us  of  many  instances  of  bravery 


244        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

ind  courage  in  peace  as  well  as  in  war,  both  of  men 
ind  women.  It  would  occupy  too  much  space  to  cite 
fhem  here;  but,  as  I  look  back  upon  my  own  experi- 
ences with  the  native  converts  and  helpers  and  re- 
member the  many  occasions  when,  for  the  sake  of 
fheir  faith  and  love  to  the  Master,  they  would  risk 
/heir  lives  and  their  all,  I  cannot  fail  to  testify  that 
they  are  a  wonderfully  courageous  and  brave  people, 
a  people  that  when  occasion  requires  are  ready  to 
«tand  firm  and  if  need  be  sacrifice  their  lives  for  the 
^ause  they  love. 

When  ready  to  open  the  work  in  Limoeiro,  Per- 
hambuco,  I  asked  the  boys  in  the  Pernambuco  Semi- 
lary  for  volunteers.  Notifying  them  of  the  danger 
nd  that,  very  likely,  we  might  have  to  lay  down  our 
fijves.  All  the  boys  stood  ready  to  go.  They  were 
ready  to  die  for  the  Master. 
Before  leaving  for  the  homeland  in  1920  I  spent 
few  weeks  in  Pernambuco  and,  as  Corresponding 
Secretary  of  the  Brazilian  Home  Board,  I  had  the 
opportunity  of  laying  before  the  Seminary  boys  and 
girls  the  need  of  the  Native  Indians  in  the  far  west 
of  Brazil.  I  had  photos  of  men  and  women  in  their 
naked  and  savage  state  and  described,  in  plain  lan- 
guage, the  present  state  of  things  in  the  virgin  forests 
of  the  Far  West,  the  hardships,  the  dangers,  the  dif- 
ficulties. When  I  made  my  appeal  for  volunteers, 
more  than  a  dozen  young  men  and  women,  with  tears 
streaming  down  their  faces,  consecrated  themselves 
to  that  work  and  are  even  now  preparing  themselves 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        245 

to  go  and  live  for  Christ  among  those  savage  and 
neglected  tribes. 

The  Brazilians  are  also  a  refined  people. 

What  I  mean  by  refined  is  a  natural  disposition  of 
gentleness  and  culture.  The  educated  classes  treat  you 
with  great  attention  and  respect,  especially  those  that 
live  in  the  interior.  If  you  are  in  need,  they  will 
share  with  you  their  last  bowl  of  farinha.  They  are 
never  rude,  bold  or  provoking.  They  will  always 
listen  to  your  side  of  the  argument  before  they  an- 
swer.   They  never  laugh  at  your  mistakes. 

I  was  once  preaching  in  San  Fidelis  about  the 
Prodigal  Son.  There  were  present  a  great  many 
of  the  better  class  that  listened  attentively  to  my  poor 
efforts.  Now  there  are  two  words  in  Portuguese  very 
much  alike.  Bezerro,  which  means  a  "calf,"  and 
Besouro,  which  signifies  a  "beetle."  Imagine  my 
horror  when  instead  of  using  the  word  that  signifies  a 
caff  as  1  spoke  of  the  Father's  joy  in  having  his 
younger  boy  back  home,  I  said  that  he  ordered  a 
"fatted  beetle."  But  to  my  great  surprise,  not  a 
muscle  could  be  seen  to  move  in  any  of  the  counten- 
ances.   If  they  laughed  they  did  not  let  me  see  it. 

As  you  walk  through  the  streets,  as  you  visit  public 
places,  in  their  homes,  everywhere  you  will  be  treated 
with  politeness  and  refinement. 

Then  also  the  Brazilians  are  a  people  ready  for 
sacrifice. 

The  sacrificial  spirit,  especially  of  the  Brazilian  be- 
lievers, surpasses  description.  Just  think  of  a  body 
of  twenty  thousand  young  converts,  half  of  them  not 


246       A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

getting  any  salary  and  the  other  half  not  averaging 
more  than  fifty  dollars  per  month,  contributing  over 
$170,000  a  year  for  their  own  work!  They  love  to 
give  and  togive  abundantly  to  the  work  of  the  Master. 

The  above  facts  should  teach  us  at  least  one  great 
lesson,  viz.,  that  the  Brazilians  are  a  strategical 
Peoplfe_^ 

To  gain  this  nation  for  Christ  and  His  cause  will 
mean  wonderful  things  in  the  near  future.  Brazil, 
with  its  open  doors,  will,  before  long,  have  a  popula- 
tion of  100,000,000  souls.  To  be  on  the  ground  now, 
to  have  places  of  worship  from  the  extreme  North  to 
the  South,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  borders  of  Bolivia 
and  Peru,  will  spell  success  in  the  next  twenty-five  to 
fifty  years.  Instead  of  having  to  overcome  customs 
and  usages  of-  hundreds  and  thousands  of  years,  as 
our  missionaries  have  to  contend  with  in  China  and 
Japan,  we  in  Brazil  will  be  able  to  teach  and  mould 
the  generations  to  come  for  Christ  and  His  Truth. 

A  great  people  and  a  great  future  is  before  the 
Baptists  of  the  world  and  with  God's  help  we  ought 
to  make  this  people  and  this  nation  the  greatest  Bap- 
tist Commonwealth  of  the  world. 

Hindrances. — The  chief  problem  in  our  work  in 
Brazil  is  the  universal  problem  of  sin,  in  all  its  mani- 
£p^|tir>rm  aggravated  by  four  hundred  years  of  Tropi- 
cal Roman  Catholicism.  Notice  that  I  especially  men- 
tion "Tropical  Roman  Catholicism,"  for  I  believe  that 
Roman  Catholicism  in  the  tropical  climate  is  much 
worse  than  in  temperate  or  colder  climates,  though 
only  God  knows  how  bad  it  is  even  in  these  regions. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        247 

What  terrible  havoc  has  Rome  wroug:ht  upon  a 
people,  naturally  religious  and  God-fearing.  After 
four  huwfiVed  years  of  ceremonialism,  of  cultivating 
and  teaching  superstitions  and  traditions  of  men,  of 
prohibiting  independence  of  investigation  and  inquiry  ! 
Here  are  some  of  the  results: 

1.  The  Word  of  God  is  an  unknown  book.  The 
bctteV^Iasses  think  it  worthless  and  useless.  The 
poorer  classes  do  not  know  it  at  all. 

2.  Praj^r  or  intimate  communion  with  God,  the 
Father  in  heaven,  is  unknown.  Those  that  do  pray 
only  repeat  phrases,  counting  the  beads.  Heart-to- 
heartcorn.munion  with  God  is  entirely  unknown. 

3.  God  Himself  is  an  unknown  Being  to  most  of 
them.    They  have  images,  crucifixes,  statues,  idols  of 
all  colors,  shapes  and  forms,  but  the  God  of  heaven 
and    earth,    all-poweriful,    omniscient    and    omni- 
present is  not  known. 

4.  Consequently  spiritual  life,  spiritual  ideals  and 
spiritual  power  are  unknown,  except  in  those  who 
have  accepted  Christ  as  their  personal  Saviour.  The 
power  that  changes  life,  that  creates  a  new  being,  that 
does  away  with  sin  and  corruption  is  unknown.  The 
priests  themselves  will  tell  the  people,  "Do  as  I  say, 
but  don't  do  as  I  do."  The  corruption  of  the  con- 
fessional is  not  easily  removed  from  the  heart  and 
life  of  a  nation. 

5.  The  saddest  thing  of  all  is  the  fact  that  Christ's 
love  and  free  offer  of  pardon  is  not  known.  Oh,  how 
they  strive  to  save  themselves  and  to  pacify  their 
troubled  consciences!     But  all  to  no  avail,  for  only 


248       A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

Jesus  pardons  and  forgives  and  saves!  Jesus  is  not 
preached — His  Gospel  is  not  published,  and  the  people 
die  in  their  sins  for  lack  of  knowledge. 

These  are  the  problems  that  confront  the  worker 
in   Brazil   and   their   natural   results   can   easily   be 

Gg-ined,*  - — -~^ 
raised  be  His  name,  these  problems  are  being 
ov^*/ed!  Slowly,  but  steadily,  the  workers  with  the 
help  of  Him  who  has  promised  to  be  with  us  even 
unto  the  end,  are  solving  all  these  problems  in  a  most 
remarkable  way. 

.What  Baptists  Are  Doin^  In  Braal. — It  has  been 
my  privilege  to  witness  the  growth  of  the  Baptist 
cause  in  Brazil  foTlTieTastthirfy'years,  and  it  seems 
to  me  that  it  will  encourage  ,our  brethren,  who  so 
willingly  and  gladly  contribut^o  the  cause  of  Foreign 
^J^Ji^sioasjorjn^-lQjCficocint  here  briefly  what  Baptists 
are  doing  in  Brazil. 

The  first  missionaries  sent  to  Brazil  were  great  seed- 
sowers.  They  spread  the  Good  news  far  and  wide 
and  laid  the  foundation  for  the  present  growth  and 
development.  Just  as  it  happened  in  the  time  of 
the  Apostles,  so  today:  "I  have  planted,  Apollos 
watered ;  but  God  gave  the  increase." 

Z.  C.  Taylor,  W.  B.  Bagby,  E.  A.  Nelson,  W.  E. 
Entzminger,  A.  B.  Christie,  F.  M.  Edwards,  O.  P. 
Maddox,  A.  B.  Deter,  and  others,  many  others  planted 
the  good  seed.  J.  W.  Shepard,  H.  H.  Muirhead,  A.  B. 
Langston,  Miss  Voorheis,  Mrs.  Bagby  and  others, 
many  others,  watered,  and  God  has  given  the  increase, 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL       349 

the  wonderful,  marvelous  increase.  Who  can  estimate 
what  the  future  will  yet  bring  forth  ? 

To  my  mind  the  miracle  of  the  five  loaves  and  fishes 
repeates  itself  continually  on  the  Mission  Field.  The 
money  that  we  give,  the  sacrifices  we  make  for  Him, 
He  accepts  and  blesses  and  then  uses,  multiplying  it  a 
thousandfold  and  satisfying  the  multitudes. 

The  Book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  has  never  been 
finished,  for  the  doings  of  the  missionaries  in  the 
Mission  Fields  are  the  continuation  of  the  same  acts. 
The  same  God  is  with  them — the  sam.e  spirit  inspires 
them — ^the  same  power  upholds  them.  Our  monthly 
magazine  the  "Home  and  Foreign  Fields"  ought  to 
change  its  title  to  the  following:  "The  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  in  Modern  Times."  As  you  read  the  letters 
from  the  workers  stationed  in  China  or  Africa,  Okla- 
homa or  Mexico ;  Italy  or  South  America,  does  it  not 
strike  you  that  you  are  reading  new  editions  of  the 
happenings  related  of  Paul  and  Barnabas? 

Mission  work  is  usually  divided  into  three  branches : 
Evangelistic,  Educational,  and  Social.  I  am  going  to 
show  you,  dear  reader,  what  the  Baptists  in  Brazil 
have  done  and  are  doing  in  these  three  lines  of  work 
as  I  have  witnessed  it  during  my  thirty  years. 

1.  Evangelistic. — If  there  is  one  characteristic  that 
distinguishes  the  Brazilian  convert  more  than  any 
other  it  is  his  desire  to  tell  the  good  news  to  others. 
Having  been  kept  in  ignorance  and  superstition, 
harassed  by  priest  arjd  politician,  oppressed  and  down- 
trodden, his  ITearToveiiows  as  soon  as  he  grasps  the 
meaning  of  the  Gospel.     He  just  bubbles  over  with 


250       A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

joy  and  he  cannot  keep  quiet.    He  must  go  out  and 
tell  others. 

On  account  of  this  spirit  of  evangelism,  the  cause 
has  spread  and  prospered  in  a  most  remarkable  degree. 
The  first  church  was  organized  in  Bahia,  October 
15,  1882,  with  five  members,  only  one  of  these  was  a 
native  convert.  In  1891  when  I  joined  the  Baptists, 
we  had  two  flourishing  churches  in  the  two  principal 
cities  of  Brazil  and  several  smaller  churches  and  out- 
stations  in  the  interior  of  Bahia,  Alagoas,  and  Minas. 
Ten  years  after  that,  1900,  we  had  work  in  the  Amazon 
valley ;  in  the  Pernambuco  district  in  which  were  in- 
cluded the  States  of  Parahyba,  Rio  Grande  do  Norte, 
and  Alagoas ;  in  Bahia,  which  had  extended  its  opera- 
tions as  far  west  as  the  San  Francisco  valley  and  as 
far  south  as  the  Victoria  field.  The  Rio  de  Janeiro 
mission  had  developed  and  was  operating  in  the 
Campos  field,  and  was  just  entering  into  the  great 
State  of  Sao  Paulo. 

In  1910,  when  Dr.  T.  B.  Ray  made  us  that  memor- 
able visit,  Brazil  reported  the  following  progress,  as 
can  be  seen  in  his  book  "Brazilian  Sketches": 

1910. 

Churches   142 

Membership 9,939 

Church  buildings 44 

Outstations   497 

Sunday  schools 138 

Sunday  school  pupils 4,438 

Missionaries 44 

Native  helpers 117 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        251 

That  was  excellent  progress.  Now  have  a  look  at 
the  statistics  ten  years  after  as  presented  to  our  P'or- 
cign  Mission  Board  for  the  year  ending  1920. 

1920. 

Churches 221 

Outstations 820 

Baptisms 2,627 

Membership 20,135 

Houses  of  worship 143 

Sunday  schools 322 

Sunday  school  pupils 14,957 

Native  contribution $176,721 

Missionaries 86 

Native  helpers 197 

Truly  the  Lord  is  doing  wonders  and  looking  at  the 
results  we  cannot  but  praise  him  and  magnify  His 
blessed  name! 
And  yet,  how  much  there  still  remains  to  be  done ! 
The  chief  employment  of  the  missionary  who  gives 
himself  to  evangelistic  work  is  opening  up  of  new 
centers.  Although  in  some  places  a  competent  native 
could  do  it,  as  a  rule,  it  has  to  be  done  by  the  mis- 
sionary, who  in  a  certain  way  can  demand,  if  neces- 
sary, the  protection  of  the  authorities.  Our  schools 
and  seminaries  are  preparing  excellent  men  for  the 
ministry.  As  soon  as  a  church  is  organized  and  the 
work  is  running  smoothly,  it  is  turned  over  to  a  com- 
petent native  minister  who  usually  carries  it  forward. 
Now,  according  to  information  received  from  the 
government,  there  are  about  2,228  county  seats  in 
Brazil,  cities  with  a  population  ranging  from  2,500  to 


252        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

more  than  50,000.  Some  of  these  counties  are  larger 
than  some  of  our  States.  The  county  of  Jacobina  in 
the  interior  of  the  State  of  Bahia  is  larger  than  the 
Republic  of  Portugal. 

Now  look  at  the  statistics  and  make  your  own  cal- 
culation. We  have  221  organized  churches.  Suppose 
one  hundred  of  these  are  situated  in  those  important 
centers — county  seats — that  leaves  over  2,000  yet  to  be 
occupied.  Now  for  that  work  we  have  eighty-six  mis- 
sionaries of  which  forty-one  are  men.  Out  of  these 
forty-one,  about  fifteen  are  occupied  in  educational 
work  and  you  will  realize  that  we  have  only  twenty- 
five  who  are  able  to  give  themselves  to  the  great  work 
of  evangelization. 

Oh,  the  need  of  workers,  especially  evangelists,  men 
full  of  zeal  and  courage  and  above  all  full  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ! 

Two  great  evangelistic  agencies  are  helping  to  con- 
quer Brazil  for  Christ :  The  Sunday  school  and  the 
Bible  institutes.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  by  this  that 
those  are  the  only  agencies.  Thank  God  for  our 
schools  and  colleges  that  are  doing  so  much  as  I  will 
be  able  to  prove  before  long.  But  I  am  mentioning 
these  two  because  of  their  direct  connection  with  our 
evangelistic  work. 

Every  Sunday  school  class  in  Brazil  is  an  evange- 
listic agency.  We  not  only  train  our  young  converts 
there,  but  have  special  classes  for  outsiders.  As  it  is 
in  the  homeland,  so  also  on  the  foreign  field,  the 
Sunday  school  supplies  the  church  with  most  of  its 
candidates  for  baptism. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        253 

The  same  can  be  said  of  the  Bible  institutes  held  in 
almost  all  of  the  mission  fields.  They  are  carefully 
organized  with  special,  well  arranged  programs  and 
the  evangelistic  note  is  upheld.  Christ  is  lifted  high 
and  souls  are  brought  to  the  Master's  feet  in  a  most 
remarkable  way. 

II.  Educational. — The  first  school  started  by  the 
Baptists  in  Brazil  was  in  1888  by  Miss  Maggy  Rice, 
in  Rio  de  Janeiro.  Unfortunately  yellow  fever  robbed 
Brazil  of  the  precious  life  of  that  young  missionary 
and  with  her  died  the  first  attempt  in  educational 
work. 

In  1895  Mrs.  Ginsburg  opened  a  school  in  the  city 
of  Campos  that  was  making  rapid  progress,  patronized 
by  the  best  families  of  the  town — but,  failing  health 
and  a  great  epidemic  of  smallpox,  destroyed  that 
effort. 

Two  Baptist  ladies  from  the  United  States  came  to 
Brazil  in  1898  with  a  small  capital  of  their  own  and 
started  a  school  in  the  new  capital  of  the  State  of 
Minas,  the  city  of  Bello  Horizonte.  It  prospered  con- 
siderably as  long  as  the  city  was  prospering;  but  as 
soon  as  the  city  quieted  down  and  most  of  the  work- 
men occupied  in  government  buildings  had  to  leave 
town  the  school  waned  and  was  finally  closed  out. 

The  year  1898  vv^itnessed  also  the  organization  of 
the  school  in  Bahia  by  Mrs.  Z.  C.  Taylor.  This  school 
was  opened  under  most  auspicious  circumstances.  A 
wealthy  coffee  planter,  who  was  a  devoted  Baptist  and 
was  anxious  to  see  his  own  girls  as  well  as  the  girls 
of  other  people  educated  gave  Mrs.  Taylor  $5,000  for 


254        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

the  equipment  of  her  school;  $2,000  were  added  to 
this  sum  by  other  members  of  our  churches  and  the 
school  assumed  at  once  the  leading  place  in  our  school 
work  in  Brazil.  This  school  made  a  splendid  record. 
After  Mrs.  Taylor  gave  it  up  on  account  of  the  neces- 
sity of  her  returning  to  the  United  States,  Brother 
C.  F.  Stapp  conducted  it  down  to  about  three  years 
ago,  when  it  was  discontinued  with  a  view  to  re- 
organizing it  in  the  interior  of  the  State,  after  the 
fashion  of  our  mountain  schools. 

It  was  in  1901,  while  stationed  in  Pemambuco  that 
Mrs.  Ginsburg  and  myself  were  able  to  realize  our 
dreams  of  starting  a  school  for  the  children  of  be- 
lievers and  a  Bible  class  to  train  those  who  were  anxi- 
ous to  preach  the  Word  of  God.  The  primary  school 
we  opened  in  the  temporary  hall  situated  on  the 
property  that  the  First  Church  had  acquired.  The 
Bible  class  we  started  in  our  own  home — Mrs.  Gins- 
burg, Mr.  J.  E.  Hamilton,  and  others  helping.  That 
was  our  first  attempt.  Now  see  what  the  Lord  has 
done. 

Looking  over  the  report  for  1920  you  will  find  that 
we  now  have  in  Brazil: 

Fifty-one  Primary  or  Elementary  Schools. 

These  are  usually  connected  with  the  local  churches 
and  supervised  either  by  the  local  pastors  or  a  com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  churches.  They  are  almost 
all  self-suppoiting. 

The  reason  for  the  existence  of  such  schools  is  very 
simple.  While  most  of  the  public  schools  are  sup- 
posed to  be  free  from  religious   teaching,  yet  the 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        255 

Catholic  priest  has  such  a  grip  upon  the  politicians 
that  very  few  teachers  are  appointed  unless  they  have 
the  approval  of  the  priest.  As  a  result  the  teachers, 
especially  in  the  smaller  towns,  are  more  or  less  sub- 
ject to  the  priest  and  Romanism  is  taught  and  prac- 
ticed openly.  In  some  of  the  interior  cities,  where  the 
priest  rules  with  a  strong  hand,  I  have  seen  the  chil- 
dren of  Baptist  families  forced  to  bow  down  to 
idols  and  to  accompany  public  processions. 

Now  if  there  is  one  thing  that  believers  in  Brazil 
hate,  with  a  holy  hatred,  it  is  idolatry — Roman  Catho- 
lic idols — and  they  will  make  any  sacrifice  to  keep 
their  children  away  from  idol  worship.  Hence  this 
sacrifice  for  primary  schools  in  connection  with  the 
local  churches.  I  have  seen  small  churches  of  one 
hundred  or  one  hundred  and  fifty  members  pay  their 
pastor's  salary  in  addition  to  paying  all  current  ex- 
penses of  rent,  etc.,  and  also  pay  the  salary  of  three 
or  more  teachers  in  order  that  their  children  be  edu- 
cated without  being  contaminated  with  this  baneful 
Roman  Catholic  idol-worship. 

Besides  these  elementary  schools  we  have  academies 
and  high  schools,  both  for  boys  and  girls  in  the  fol- 
lowing mission  centers: 

Victoria.  This  school  is  under  the  competent  man- 
agement of  Brother  and  Mrs.  L.  M.  Reno,  who  are 
preparing  more  than  a  hundred  young  men  and  as 
many  young  ladies  for  a  great  future,  not  only  for 
their  own  people,  but  also  for  Christ. 

Campos,  directed  by  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Bratcher.  A 
great  school  whose  influence  upon  the  community  is 


256       A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

powerful.  There  are  about  two  hundred  pupils  in 
this  school  coming  from  the  best  families  of  the  dis- 
trict all  under  the  influence  of  the  Gospel  and  of  th^ 
spiritual  lives  of  this  godly  couple. 

Bello  Horizonte,  the  capital  of  the  State  of  Minas. 
This  school  was  opened  a  few  years  ago  by  Brother 
and  Mrs.  O.  P.  Maddox.  It  is  now  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Brother  and  Mrs.  Morgan.  It  is  a  great 
blessing  not  only  to  the  children  of  the  believers,  but 
also  is  drawing  the  youth  of  the  outsiders  and  is 
exercising  a  mighty  influence  for  good  in  the  whole 
community. 

Paranagua,  the  most  important  commercial  city 
of  the  State  of  Parana.  This  school  is  under  the 
direct  supervision  of  Brother  Deter  and  is  making 
a  most  encouraging  progress. 

Brother  Dunstan,  in  Porto  Alegre,  and  Brother 
Jackson,  in  Campo  Grande,  Matto  Grosso,  have 
flourishing  schools.  The  latter  opened  only  lately, 
both  exercising  tremendous  influence  for  good  in  their 
respective  communities. 

Altogether  we  have  eleven  academies  or  high 
schools  under  the  direct  supervision  of  our  Baptist 
forces.  Their  influence  is  powerful,  yet  their  number 
in  comparison  with  our  need  is  so  limited  that  it  is 
really  pitiful. 

Every  Mission  Station  ought  to  have  a  well- 
organized  and  well-equipped  academy  in  charge  of  a 
couple  of  missionaries  specially  prepared  to  do  that 
kind  of  work.  It  is  only  thus  that  we  will  be  able 
to  meet  our  educational  opportunity. 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        257 

The  greatest  blessing  that  has  come  to  Brazil  along 
with  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  was  the  gift  of  our 
great  colleges  and  seminaries,  whose  spiritual  in- 
fluences are  exercised  effectively,  not  only  upon  our 
churches  and  believers,  but  also  upon  the  whole 
Brazilian  nation.  I  refer  to  the  College  and  Semi- 
nary in  Rio  with  its  600  pupils;  the  College  and 
Seminary  and  Training  School  in  Pemambuco  with 
its  900  pupils,  and  the  Woman's  College  and  Training 
School  in  Sao  Paulo  with  its  250  pupils. 

Just  a  few  lines  about  each. 

The  College  and  Seminary  established  February, 
1908,  in  the  Federal  Capital  of  Brazil  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Dr.  J.  W.  Shepard,  is  considered  to  be  one  bf 
the  best  colleges  in  Brazil.  It  has  a  splendid  body 
of  teachers,  and  is  attracting  pupils  from  the  leading 
families  of  the  land.  It  occupies  an  excellent  piece 
of  property,  situated  in  the  best  residential  section  of 
the  great  metropolis.  It  naturally  has  a  promising 
future  before  it.  According  to  the  plans  of  the  direc- 
tor and  the  Board  of  Trustees,  that  college  will  soon 
be  transformed  into  a  great  Baptist  University.  Wor- 
ship is  held  in  the  chapel  every  morning  and  special 
evangelistic  services  once  every  week  and  the  Lord  is 
converting  many.  The  influence  of  this  institution  is 
felt  not  only  in  the  great  city,  with  its  million  and  a 
quarter  of  souls,  but  all  over  the  county,  for  Rio  de 
Janeiro  is  the  heart  of  Brazil  and  whatever  happens 
in  Rio  is  felt  all  over  the  country. 

The  same  might  be  said  about  our  College,  Seminary 
and  Training  School  of  Pemambuco,  under  the  direc- 


258        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

tion  of  Brother  H.  H.  Muirhead.  Pernambuco  being 
a  smaller  city,  with  a  population  of  only  250,000,  the 
influences  of  an  institution  like  that  are  naturally 
greater  in  the  local  community  than  in  a  city  like  Rio 
with  a  million  and  a  quarter  population.  Then  also 
the  opposition  of  the  iconoclastic  element  in  Pernam- 
buco is  greater  than  in  Rio  and  consequently  the  bless- 
ings are  more  signal,  for  wherever  persecution  is 
wielded  the  work  prospers  far  more  than  where  in- 
difference prevails.  The  college  in  Pernambuco  is  cer- 
tainly destined  to  do  a  great  work  for  our  Master  and 
Lord.  The  preparation  of  forty  young  men  for  the 
ministry  and  about  forty  young  women  for  the  service 
of  the  King  is  a  great  asset  for  the  future  of  our 
churches  and  mission  fields. 

The  Woman's  College  of  Brazil,  located  in  Sao 
Paulo,  was  started  by  the  Bagbys  in  1902.  For  many 
years  they  struggled  and  toiled  and  now  its  future  is 
guaranteed.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  E.  A.  Ingram  are  directing 
this  great  institution  with  great  skill  and  good  re- 
sults. Lately  an  excellent  piece  of  property  was 
bought,  on  which  a  new  modern  building  will  be  put 
and  the  numerous  young  women,  that  are  anxious  to 
enter,  can  be  accommodated.  One  of  the  greatest  de- 
lights in  my  missionary  journeys  is  to  pass  a  few 
days  in  this  great  institution,  look  into  the  faces  of 
these  beautiful  young  women  coming  from  the  best 
people  in  the  land,  and  preach  Christ  to  them.  Just 
imagine  the  future  of  Brazil  with  these  young  ladies, 
touched  by  the  lives  of  such  women  as  Mrs.  Bagby, 
Mrs.  Edwards,  Mrs.  Ingram !    It  is  sure  to  tell,  and 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL       259 

the  future  looks  to  me  wonderfully  hopeful  and  bright 
III.  Socially. — ^What  effect  do  the  Baptists  produce 
upon  the  social  life  of  the  Brazilian  people?  This  is 
a  great  question  and  I  want  to  give  you  a  plain  answer. 
inTvery  Baptist  church  raises  the  standard  of 
morals  in  the  community.  When  it  is  first  organized 
it  is  combatted  and  ostracized,  but  once  the  people 
realize  the  principles  we  stand  for,  they  admire  and 
uphold.  To  become  a  member  in  a  Baptist  Church  in 
Brazil,  one  has  to  prove  he  has  real  and  true  regenera- 
tion. A  committee  is  appointed  to  investigate  the  life 
and  behavior  xjta,  candidate  before  he  is  accepted  into 
the  chufsHirThc  Baptist  church  is  looked  up  to  as  a 
standard  of  morality  in  its  community  and  can  be 
dependedlipon  to  stand  up  for  all  righteousness.  The 
influence  oT*over  200  Baptist  churches  and  about  800 
mission  stations  spread  over  the  whole  territory  is 
telling  wonderfully  upon  a  people  whose  standard  of 
morals  was  the  priest  with  his  immoral  dictimi:  "Do 
as  I  tell  you,  but  don't  do  as  I  do." 

2.  Then  the  life  of  the  converts  is  exercising  a 
powerful  influence  for  good  everywhere.  At  first  the 
people  will  laugh  and  scoff  at  him,  but  finally  receive 
him  with  open  arms  and  admire  him  for  his  moral 
courage  and  behavior.  I  have  found  this  to  be  the 
case  all  over  Brazil,  in  every  class  of  society.  Dr. 
Paranagua,  ex-governor  and  ex-senator,  moving  in  the 
highest  circles  of  society,  was  at  first  ridiculed  by  his 
former  colleagues.  Today  all  this  has  changed  and 
when  he  enters  the  Senate,  everyone  is  anxious  to 
wish  him  God-speed  in  his  efforts  to  witness  for  Christ. 


260       A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

It  has  been  my  privilege  to  visit  in  his  company  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Congress  and  distribute  books 
and  papers  to  iiis  former  colleagues  and  enjoy  the 
respect  with  which  all  would  listen  to  the  message 
we  brought  them. 

What  Dr.  Paranagua  is  doing  is  being  done  by 
practically  every  convert  in  Brazil.  Such  lives  and 
living  testimonies  tell  and  will  bring  forth  inevitable 
results. 

3.  Our  convention  with  its  various  Boards  is  mak- 
ing a  fine  impression  upon  the  natives.  Our  annual 
meetings  together  with  the  annual  reports  of  our 
Boards  receive  wide  publicity  through  the  daily  press. 
Our  Home  Mission  Board  with  its  program  of  work 
among  the  many  tribes  of  uncivilized  Indians  is  stir- 
ring up  not  only  our  own  Baptist  folk,  but  also  the 
general  public.  Our  Foreign  Mission  Board  with  a 
progressive  work  in  Portugal  and  a  great  program 
of  evangelizing  all  Portuguese-speaking  people  is  at- 
tracting much  attention.  The  whole  work  of  the  con- 
vention laid  out  upon  the  plan  of  our  Southern  Baptist 
Convention,  so  simple,  so  democratic,  yet  so  aggressive 
and  unified  is  drawing  the  attention  of  the  leaders  of 
the  nation  and  is  having  its  effect  not  only  upon  their 
public  speeches,  but  also  upon  their  deliberations 
and  laws. 

Just  one  illustration  will  suflfice.  When  an  appeal 
was  made  to  Congress  to  let  us  have  at  a  reasonable 
price  a  certain  piece  of  property  in  Rio  belonging  to 
the  government  which  was  going  to  be  sold  at  auction 
as  we  intended  to  use  it  for  school  as  well  as  for 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL         261 

church  purposes — Congress  passed  an  act  giving  us 
the  property  at  50  per  cent  discount  on  the  price  for 
which  the  adjoining  properties  mir^ht  be  sold,  stipulat- 
ing, however,  certain  conditions  that  inhibited  us,  on 
account  of  our  principles,  from  obtaining  that  prop- 
erty. Imagine  the  surprise  of  the  government  leaders 
when  we  informed  them  that  we  could  not  accept  that 
property  on  account  of  the  conditions.  We  were  not 
willing  to  even  appear  to  establish  a  union  between 
the  church  and  the  State,  a  principle  that  we  as  Bap- 
tists opposed.  This  incident  gave  us  a  tremendous 
opportunity  for  making  our  principles  known. 

4.  The  Publishing  House  is  exercising  a  powerful 
influence  upon  the  nation.  Our  weekly  paper  pene- 
trates into  all  parts  of  the  land.  We  issue  an  edition 
of  over  5,000  copies  and  its  editorials  and  valuable 
articles  are  read  by  thousands  upon  thousands  of  the 
people.  In  some  places  it  is  the  only  paper  that  is 
received  and  when  it  arrives  it  is  read  and  discussed 
in  the  public  square. 

Then  several  of  the  books  that  have  been  published 
ire  exercising  a  great  influence  upon  the  people. 

Yes,  the  Baptists  are  making  a  powerful  impression 
upon  the  Brazilian  people.  The  seed  sown  is  brineing 
forth  its  fruit  and  in  due  season  we  shall  reap,  if  we 
faint  not. 

Thirty  years  or  even  forty  or  fifty  is  not  a  long  time 
in  the  Lord's  work  for  showing  actual  results— but 
even  in  this  short  time  we  have  seen  results  and  what 
we  have  seen  is  an  earnest  of  what  is  to  come. 
Our  lord's  arm  has  not  been  shortened  and  His  power 


262        A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL 

hat  not  diminished.  Today,  as  He  was  yesterday, 
and  as  He  will  be  forever — He  is  the  samel 

And  now,  in  bringing  this  book  to  a  close,  let  me 
tell  the  following  story,  as  being  typical  of  the  power 
of  the  Gospel  in  Brazil  and  of  the  cry  of  all  Christian 
Brazilians  on  behalf  of  themselves  and  their  people. 

A  Bible  Organizing  a  Baptist  Church. — A  Bible  had 
been  given  to  the  Registrar  of  Deeds  in  the  city  of 
Conquista,  situated  in  the  extreme  south  of  the  State 
of  Bahia.  He  began  reading  it  and  read  it  to  his 
neighbors.  A  group  of  about  ninety  persons  had 
gathered  about  him,  anxious  to  follow  the  leadings 
of  the  Word  of  God.  They  began  to  study  the  Holy 
Book  trying  to  accommodate  their  lives  to  its  teach- 
ing. Soon  they  had  organized  themselves  into  a  New 
Testament  church.  The  only  thing  that  troubled  them 
was  the  question  of  who  should  baptize  them,  as  they 
had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  only  the  baptism  of  a 
believer  was  valid.  Finally  they  heard  of  the  mis- 
sionary in  the  capital  of  the  State.  The  Registrar  of 
Deeds,  Theophilo  de  Queiroz,  by  name,  spent  a  month 
in  the  home  of  the  missionary,  Dr.  Z.  C.  Taylor,  was 
instructed,  baptized,  ordained,  and  on  his  return  to 
Conquista,  he  in  turn  baptized  about  ninety  believers 
and  organized  a  church — a  complete  Baptist  organiza- 
tion. 

In  1911,  I  visited  that  city,  preached  there  for  two 
weeks  and  had  over  sixty  conversions  and  baptisms. 
As  I  was  returning  to  the  capital,  more  than  fifty 
ladies  and  gentlemen,  the  aristocracy  of  the  district 
followed  me  on  horseback  for  about  five  miles  and 


A  WANDERING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        263 

when  the  time  came  for  separation  one  of  the  most 
touching  incidents  of  my  missionary  life  happened. 
If  you  will  read  Acts  20 :36,  37  and  38,  you  will  under- 
stand it  better.  We  all  knelt  by  the  roadside  and 
prayed  and  wept.  The  men  fell  on  my  neck  and  kissed 
me  and  begged  me  not  to  forget  them.  As  I  was  soon 
to  leave  for  the  homeland  they  asked  me  to  tell  the 
brotherhood  in  the  States  of  their  gratitude  for  send- 
ing them  the  good  news  of  salvation  and  to  please  not 
to  forget  them  in  their  prayers. 

In  our  prayers  before  the  Throne  of  Grace,  in  our 
love  and  sympathy,  in  our  gifts  and  sacrifices  let  us 
not  forget  Brazil  w^ith  its  millions  of  needy,  hungry 
souls. 

As  for  myself  I  can  truthfully  repeat  the  words  of 
the  Apostle  Paul  given  to  the  elders  of  Ephesus : 
"But  none  of  these  things  move  me. 
Neither  count  I  my  life  dear  unto  myself, 
So  that  I  might  finish  my  course  with  joy, 
And  the  ministry,  which  I  have  received  of  the 

Lord  Jesus, 
To  testify  the  Gospel  of  the  Grace  of  God." 

—Acts  20:24. 


ALPHABETICAL   INDEX 


SUBJECT  Page 

Allen,    Rev.   J.    R 231 

Amazon  Valley,  In  the 133 

Americus  Georgia,  Y.  W.  A.  of.  153 

Antonio    Silvino    147 

Assassination,       Another       At- 
tempt   at    125 

Assassination,    Rumors   of 120 

Bagby,  Rev.  T.  C i{28 

Bagby,   Rev.  W.   B 228 

Bahia     70 

Bahia    Penitentiary    180 

Baker,   Rev.   C.   A 232 

Bandit,  My  Encounter  With  a..  147 

Baptism    25 

Baptist      Church      Standard      of 

Morals  259 

Baptists   in   Bahia 69 

Barra      de      Itabapoana,      Gun- 
shooting   at    163 

Bernardo,  Rev,  Adrian  OnesJmo  195 
Bible,    Public    Burning   of  the..  138 

Bibles,    Selling    47 

Bible,    The   Work   of   a   Little..  108 

Birth  and  Education 15 

Bratcher,   Rev.  L.  M 230 

Brazil,   What   Baptists   are  Do- 
ing in   248 

Brazil,    The    Future    Storehouse 

of  the  World    241 

Brazilian  Problems  246 

Brazilians,  Four  Traits 342 

Brazilian    Baptist   Convention...    71 
Breaking  My  Neck,  Saved  from.    36 

Called  to  Service 36 

Campos  Mission    93 

Cannada,   Rev.  W.  H 144 

Cantor   Christao    123 

Carroll      Memorial      Publishing 

House    170 

Cerqueira,    Rev.    Tertulliano....  202 

Christ,   A   Glimpse   of 19 

Christie,   Rev.  A.  B 230 

Church,  Building  My  First 95 

Church  of  Rome,  Three  Reasons 

Why  I  Left  the 182 

CTancy,   Mr.   J 25 

Colportage  Work   173 

ColpoTter 109 

Companions   and  Friends... 207 

Congregationalists   44 

Conftecration   Service    38 


SUBJECT  Pat« 

Contents  5 

Corviraba,   Matto  Grosso 185 

Costa,   Senhor  Thomas  da 217 

Crossland,  Rev.  D,  F.  231 

Daily  Press,  Discussions  I'n  the  136 

Death  of  My  Wife 87 

Debate,  A  Public   75 

Decision   21 

Deter,   Rev.   A.   B 227 

Discussions   and   Discoveries....    62 

Downing,   Dr.  J.   L 237 

Dunstan,    Rev.    A.    L 226 

Dust  Bin,  Thrown  Into  a 26 

Education    15 

Edwards,  Rev.  F.  M 229 

Entzminger,    Dr.   W.   E 210 

Escape,    A    Narrow 36 

Evangelism    168 

Excommunicated  and  Cursed....    27 

Falcao,   Rev.   Orlando ^ 

Farewell    38 

Feast  of  Tabernacle 19 

Foreword   7 

Fruit  After  Twenty  Years 182 

Ginsburg,  Mrs.   Emma  Morton..  253 

God's   Word,  The   Power  of 78 

Gospel,   Hearing   the    18 

Growth   and    Development 142 

Hamilton.   Rev.   D.   L 235 

Herculano,  A  Miracle  of  Grace.    55 

Kites,    Rev.    L.   T 233 

Home,   Expelled    from 23 

Hospitality,    Brazilian    183 

Idols,   Catholics   Worship 239 

Ingram,   Rev.  E.   A 229 

Interior,   Evangelizing   in  the...    48 

Isaiah,    Chapter  53 18 

Introduction    9 

Jackson,  Rev.   E.  A 230 

Johnson,   Rev,  L.  L 234 

Jomal    Baptista    179 

Langston,   Dr.  A.  B 232 

Language,   Learning  the 39 

Lessa,      Conversion       of      Rev. 
Joachim    F 191 


A  WANPIKRING  JEW  IN  BRAZIL        265 


SUBJECT  Pag» 

Lirnoeiro,  Opening  of  the  Wctk 

in    153 

London    IJ 

Macahe,   Persecution   in    113 

Maddox,   Rev.  O.  P 231 

Masonic   Order    85 

Matrimonial    Speculation    16 

McClure,    Mr 25 

Mein,   Rev.  John   23^ 

Mildmay  Mission  to  the  Jews.. 18-21 

Morgan,   Rev,   F.  A.  R 231 

Morton,  Miss   Emma 91 

Native  Ministry,  Training  of  ihe  143 

Nazareth   Church    126 

Near  Death's  Door 86 

Neglected  Continent   33 

Nictheroy    9Q 

Nind,  Rev.  George  B 63 

One  Thousands  Souls  in  a  Year  l61 

Open-Air  Service,  First 44 

Organizing    Churches    and    Mis- 
sions    » 184 

Ordination  Service   „, 28 

Orthodoxy,  Jewish 16 

Paranagua,   Dr.  J.   N 223 

Parker,   Rev.  James   B 236 

Paz,   Rev.  Manuel  da 199 

Pernambuco,  Conditions  of  Work 

in    1900    129 

Pernambuco,  Visiting   50 

Persecution   in    Bom   Jardin 131 

Persecutions,   New    66 

Pettigrew,  Rev.  R.   E 227 

Pinto,    Dr.    F.    Miranda 221 

Places,  In  Many   161 

Portugal,    Fleeinc   from 41 

Preparation  for  Service 33 

Printed   Page,   Using  the 50 

Printed    Page,    The    Power     of 

the     121 

Prisoners,  Work  Among 177 

Prison  for  the  First  Time 52 

Primary  Schools   254 

Profession   of  Faith 2? 

Randall,  Miss  Ruth 233 

Ray,  Dr.  T.  B 225 

Recruiting  for  the  Master 190 

Regions  Beyond  Mission  College  Sf 


SUBJECT  Page 

Reno,  Rev.  L.  M 231 

Revenge,  A  Missionary's 106 

Rice,    Miss    Maggy 253 

Rio   de    Janeiro 42 

Robinson.  Mr.  W.  W 143 

Santiago,  Rev.  Augusto  Felippe  200 

Sao  Fidelis,    Persecution    in 97 

Sermon,  A  Tract  Changed  His..  187 

Shepard,    Dr.    J.    W 213 

Sherwood,  Rev.  W.  B 233 

Soren,  Rev.  F.  F 217 

Southern  Bapti.st  Convention....  260 
Souza,  Rev  Manuel  Avelino  de  197 
Spiritual    Blindness,    The   Anti- 
dote  for   176 

Sprinkled.  Baptizing  Those  I  Had  67 

Stanton,  Rev.  Rufus  B 230 

Stapp,  Rev.  C.  F 234 

Statistics     251 

Stcriopticon,  What  A  Slide  Did    60 

Store,  Kicked  Out  of  a 47 

Street   Preaching    26 

Students,  Portuguese  University    41 

Suburbs,  Growth  in  the 145 

Suicide,    Saved   from 181 

{Taylor,   Rev.  Hudson   38 

Taylor,  Dr.  J.  J 229 

Taylor,    Dr.    W.    C 235 

Taylor.  Dr.  Z.  C 207 

Teixeira,   Senhor  Theodore....   72-74 

Terry,  Rev.  A.  J 237 

Testifying     21 

Titanic,  Escaping  the 168 

Tracts    181 

Trials    66 

Victory    119 

Victoria,  First  Visit  to 76 

Victoria  Mission   231 

Watson,  Rev.  S.  L 232 

White,  Miss  Pauline  236 

White,  Rev.  M.  G 234 

White   Slavers,    Beaten   by 34 

Wilkinson.   Rev.   John   21-25 

Willingham,  Dr.  R.  J 225 

W.  M.   S.   of  South  Carolina....  143 
Word  of  God,  Learning  to  Read 

the   53 

Wrijjht.  Mr.   Maxwell 48 


*A-nflye  s^iadVeep  I  iJU  «nW  fte  fourteenth 
rtav  A^d  it  shall  be,  when  thou  hast  made 
an  end  fllieaamg  te  i»oV  that  thou  Shalt 

,.,..sen4  fReawaj  airtoroi  master. 

fxod«5  12:6;  ttetemiah  51:63;  Genesis  24:54. 


V^iniiDRK^^^ 


